To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons his Department altered the design of the no-smoking sign it requires to be placed at the front of every enclosed public space to make it different from that determined by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO); what representations he has received from the ISO on the issue; at what cost the redesigned sign was developed; whether external agencies were involved in its redesign; and if he will make a statement. (147582)

The Health Act 2006 requires smokefree premises to display no-smoking signs. The Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007 set out the requirements for no-smoking signs to be displayed in smokefree premises and vehicles.

In addition to specified wording, no-smoking signs for smokefree premises must also carry a no-smoking symbol which “consists solely of a graphic representation of a single burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle of at least 70 millimetres in diameter with a red bar across it”. The regulations are sufficiently flexible to enable businesses to design no-smoking signs that will fit the decor of their premises, as well as to use a no-smoking symbol of their choosing.

The regulations do not specifically require no-smoking signs to carry the International Organization for Standardisation no-smoking symbol. To make such requirement would be overly bureaucratic and create an unnecessary burden on businesses, for example by requiring the replacement of pre-existing signs in smokefree vehicles across the country.

The Department has received no specific representations from the International Organization for Standardization on requirements set out in the Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007, either during the public consultation on smokefree regulations or subsequently.

The no-smoking signs that have been made available via the Department’s Smokefree England campaign are compliant with these regulations. The cost for the design of no-smoking signs that have been made available by the Department was provided in the answer given to the hon. Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire), on 18 June 2007, Official Report, columns 1577-78W. The figure represents the total design costs for signs, including the no-smoking symbol used.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures to enforce the prohibition on smoking in public places. (147904)

[holding answer 9 July 2007]: The Department has put a range of measures into place to monitor and evaluate smokefree legislation in England. A programme of Department-sponsored research is in place to monitor the impact of the new law.

Data are also being collected from local authorities on levels of compliance and enforcement actions taken, as well as the number of calls to the Smokefree England compliance line. These data will be routinely published on the Smokefree England website at:

www.smokefreeengland.co.uk.

Given that smokefree legislation has only been enforced since 1 July 2007, specific assessments on the effectiveness of enforcement are unable to be made at present.