Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions there have been under legislation on tobacco display in retail outlets since 2010.
Jane Ellison
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts under legislation on tobacco display in retail outlets, England and Wales, 2010 to 2014 can be viewed in the table:
Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts under legislation on tobacco display in retail outlets1 England and Wales, 2010 to 20142,3
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
2 |
2 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
1 Includes Sec 8, and 16(2) of Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002
2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for or found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice.
Court proceedings data for 2015 are planned for publication in due course.
Legislation restricting the display of tobacco products in retail outlets came into force for large stores in 2012 and for all other retailers in April 2015. The penalty for non-compliance is a fine not exceeding £5,000 on summary conviction in a magistrates’ court. Trading standards have taken a compliance building approach at both stages of implementation, providing information and advice on the first visit, with follow up visits if needed and issuing warnings before considering court action. Compliance by large retailers has been almost universal since the legislation came into force. Early indications are that compliance in small shops is also high.
