Member

I have modified the amendment I tabled in Committee because the Minister convinced me that I should not request that the larger fines for offences against the licensing regulations in Clause 38(1) and (2) should be diverted to smoking cessation services, because it might deter local authorities from enforcing the regulations if they were to be financially penalised by doing so. I accepted the Minister’s argument, so I have focused my amendments on subsections (3) and (4) of the clause, which relate to the smaller fine of £200, or £100 if paid promptly. These are enforced by trading standards officers in the normal course of their work. They tell me that the Government have provided funds for more people, but there are still costs relating to collecting the fixed penalty notice fines, and the additional government funding and the licence fee should cover that.