Tobacco companies who spend more than pounds 60m a year on advertising and sponsorship had
Tobacco companies, who spend more than pounds 60m a year on advertising and sponsorship, had been lobbying the Government to phase in a ban over the life of the Parliament. They had also been hoping that the present voluntary agreement on advertising between themselves and the Government would be used as the basis for the ban because statutory legislation will be harder for any future government to reverse. The Queen's Speech said a draft bill will be introduced to create "an effective ban on tobacco advertising during this session". In particular, more information will be made available to consumers.Legislation will be introduced as soon as possible, but the Government said it was impossible to say whether that would be during this session of Parliament.The Consumers' Association said consumers must be given a voice at all levels of the proposed Food Standards Agency. There would be an overarching commission of about 10 members drawn from various backgrounds and an executive arm.A Cabinet committee chair-ed by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster David Clark has been established to drive the project forward. But until the agency is established, changes will be introduced in MAFF to improve openness on food safety issues.
It would report to Parliament through the Department of Health, taking away the responsibility from the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. It has gone out for consultation with comments re- quested by 20 June.The proposed food agency would be responsible for developing policy, drafting legislation and educating the public. Instead, it will "consult widely" on recommendations for the agency to ensure public health in all matters of food policy. Last week, Professor Philip James of the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen presented the Prime Minister with a report commissioned when Tony Blair was leader of the Opposition. The Government yesterday pledged to be "open and transparent" over food safety but did not include plans for immediate legislation for a new food standards agency in the Queen's Speech.
Action against alcohol-related crime, including greater use of bans on street drinking, will be introduced.On the question of civil rights there are plans for a Bill incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic legislation; a Data Protection Bill; and an Immigration Bill which will provide for a right of appeal for those threatened with deportation on national security grounds.Measures to reform the Crown Prosecution Service, such as appointing a chief crown prosecutor in each police force, are to go ahead, but do not need legislation.. On youth justice, the Bill will bring fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders to halve the time from arrest to sentencing.Other measures include replacing repeat cautions with a single, final warning; scrapping the assumption that children aged 10 to under 14 are incapable of telling wrong from right; giving courts new powers, including imposing "reparation orders" to force children as young as 10 to make amends by working for their victims or the community; and introduces new orders to make parents face up to responsibility for their children's misbehaviour.On the disorder front, there will be a new "community safety order" to curb antisocial behaviour by nuisance neighbours and new offences of racial harassment and racially-motivated violence. MPs will be given a free vote on the measure - which is bound to be pas- sed by Labour's huge majority.The ban is expected to come into force at the same time as the Firearms Act, which outlaws large-calibre handguns. Collection of the revolvers could then start in the autumn.Mr Straw said his department would give "active consideration" to restriction on the possession of shotguns and airguns.The main law and order measure proposed yesterday was the Crime and Disorder Bill, which will almost certainly be preceded by a White Paper, but is intended to be law by the end of the year.One of the most controversial aspects is the creation of a nightime curfew for children aged 10 and under. The new legislation will outlaw an estimated 40,000 .22 handguns at a cost of at least pounds 12m in compensation. A Firearms Bill is one of a raft of measures proposed by the Government which aims to crack down on youth crime and antisocial behaviour while enhancing citizens' rights. Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, yesterday signalled the Government's determination to overcome any threat by the House of Lords to block a new law to "prohibit the private possession of handguns".He said that he intended the new Bill to be "short and tight" and to be in place "this side of summer". Academics also believe it would have some tax-raising powers - for example, introducing road tolls.Borough councils would still have responsibility for "social provisions", including education and social services.
Labour ministers will make the point that many services - such as transport and urban regeneration - have lacked a "strategic" vision which will be provided by a city-wide authority.. With a salary of at least pounds 100,000, the personal mandate of several million voters and a worldwide profile, the post of elected mayor for London is sure to attract huge interest from politicians and businessmen.Tony Banks, the new Minister for Sport, has made it clear he would stand for the position, as would Steven Norris, the former Conservative transport minister - even Richard Branson, the flamboyant chairman of Virgin, has not ruled himself out.The new authority is likely to span all 32 boroughs, as well as the City of London, which constitute the capital. Set up in 1965, it was responsible for planning policies, traffic management, roads, London Transport, land usage and the fire brigade.The difference between the old system and the Labour proposals will be in the power wielded "The mayor will have the moral power of having been elected He will be able to stick up for the capital. The GLC was fatally disabled by not having enough power," said Tony Travers, director of the Greater London Group at the London School of Economics.Nick Raynsford said: "The new body will have an important role for economic development - developing partner- ships and attracting new investment, with the mayor leading trade delegations. That is very different from the GLC's function."Labour ministers were also keen to point out that the elected authorities will not get "bog- ged down" in the day-to-day delivery of services and said there would be "no conflict of responsibility between boroughs and the mayor's function".The new set-up is likely to see a mayor elected every four years, with annual elections for a third of the new executive. The Government will bring forward a short Bill by the autumn for a London-wide referendum to be held next year. The referendum's result is unlikely to upset Labour's plans - opinion polls have consistently shown support for the proposal running at more than 70 per cent among the city's four million voters.John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister, and Nick Raynsford, the Minister for London, plan a Green Paper - to be published in July - which will set out detailed proposals for the role and powers of the mayor and the Greater London Authority.Labour's manifesto for London made it plain that the newly elected authority for London would be handed sweeping powers over police, transport and the environment.Led by a directly elected mayor, the new authority would be granted overall strategy in a whole range of areas, including the right to appoint the board which runs London Transport.Responsibility for the policing of London would be taken by a board answering to the new authority, with a majority of its members drawn from it, although the "national" policing functions of the Metropolitan Police would be safeguarded.Although the current administration would not appreciate the comparison, the responsibilities of the new bodies would not be much different from the old GLC.
London is to get a new authority and an elected mayor to govern the capital, which has been deprived of a voice since Margaret Thatcher abolished the Greater London Council in 1986. The non-party Partnership for a Parliament group, shunned by Conservatives and Nationalists, has raised pounds 130,000 from unions and the business community in the hope that a single umbrella body can avoid the squabbling that broke out between disparate yes campaigns in 1979.. Pro-devolution Tories believe a parliament in Edinburgh offers an avenue for rebuilding the party and will be arguing for a fresh start at the Scottish Conservative conference in June.Campaigners for a yes-yes vote in Scotland will hold a preliminary meeting in the Edinburgh parliament building on Saturday. They could hardly be much later if, as is intended, a Scottish parliament is to be in being in 1999. Unlike Labour's last ill-fated devolution referendums of 1979, a simple majority of votes will carry the day, rather than a majority of those entitled to vote. "Fancy franchises are not on the agenda," Mr Dewar said.Within the next few weeks a White Paper is to be published outlining the Government's plans for the Edinburgh Parliament so that Scots will know what they are voting on.