Member

I also acknowledge a preoccupation with what constitutes good regulation, having served over the last 20 years on a number of advisory bodies on regulation, established by Governments of differing political hues. I served on the Better Regulation Commission for the Blair Government, the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council for the Brown Government and the Better Regulation strategy group for the coalition Government. Two of the central maxims advocated by all those advisory bodies and accepted by Governments both then and now are the need for legislation and regulations to be firmly grounded in evidence and to be proportionate. Applying those principles to this Bill begs the question as to whether it is evidence-based and proportionate in distinguishing between products that are a material and proven public health risk, especially to young people, and those that are not.