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Chancellor Rishi Sunak is to announce an extra £3 billion for the NHS - but has warned that people will soon see an “economic shock laid bare” as the country deals with the coronavirus pandemic.
The one-year funding will be pledged in the Spending Review on Wednesday, 25 November 2020. But Mr Sunak but has warned of tax rises as high levels of borrowing cannot go on “indefinitely.” Borrowing in October hit £22.3bn, with public sector debt over £2 trillion.
The Treasury said that the NHS would get £1 billion to address backlogs by catching up on checks, scans and operations that were delayed by COVID-19. Around £1.5 billion will be used to ease existing pressures in the health service, and £500 million will help support mental health services. The NHS usually gets extra money to tide it through the winter months but on a much more modest scale, with £700 million in 2014/15 the highest payout of the last 10 years. The additional funding only applies to England, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive equivalent funding.
NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said the extra cash would take the weight off the NHS, allowing “one million extra checks, scans and additional operations” to be carried out. “And because Covid takes a mental as well as physical toll, it’s particularly important that we will be able to continue to expand mental health services too,” he added.
Source: BBC News, 22 November 2020
See also: The Times - Rishi Sunak signals tax rises in spring
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Parents are being urged to look out for suspected drugs disguised as confectionary called Zombie Sweets. Cleveland Police seized a stash of the sweets, which are believed to contain cannabis or a similar substance, in a raid in Billingham on Friday, 20 November 2020. A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of supplying Class B drugs.
Chief inspector Scott Cowie, from the Community Safety Team, said: “We don’t know what is in these sweets or how strong they are, but they could potentially be dangerous if taken. They come in sealed packets and look very much like real sweets.”
Tom Le Ruez, Tees Preventing Drug-Related Deaths Co-ordinator, said: “Edibles such as sweets infused with drugs can take longer for effects to appear than smoking drugs. People should be aware of the delayed onset of taking drugs orally and potential for unpredictable effects, especially when the contents and dosage are unknown.”
Source: BBC News, 22 November 2020
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From 2024, supermarkets in the Netherlands will no longer be allowed to sell cigarettes and other related products, the Dutch government confirmed on Friday 20 November 2020. Supermarkets have already had to put tobacco products in closed cabinets, out of sight of potential customers.
Together with a ban on cigarette vending machines from 2022, the supermarket ban will remove around 11,000 of the current 16,000 tobacco vending points in the country, the government said. Paul Blokhuis, State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport, said: “With this decision and the course we have set today, we will prevent a great many unnecessary deaths and medical suffering.”
Around 22% of all Dutch aged 18 and above smoked regularly last year, according to health research institute Trimbos, down from 26% in 2014. Since 2008, smoking has been prohibited in bars and restaurants. Earlier this year, all smoking areas at train stations were removed, while office buildings need to follow suit by 2022.
Since last month, all cigarettes on sale in the Netherlands have to be in standardised packaging similar to that in the UK. The price of cigarettes will also increase to 10 Euros in 2023.
Source: London Daily, 23 November 2020
See also: NL Times - Dutch government outlaws supermarket cigarette sales from 2024
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PQ1: Tobacco: UK Trade with EU
Asked by Emily Thornberry Labour, Islington South and Finsbury
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of Rules of Origin requirements on (a) the UK tobacco industry and (b) finished tobacco products imported into the UK from the EU from 1 January 2021, to support negotiations on the UK-EU Free Trade Agreement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food
In the event of a Free Trade Agreement with the EU, as with all Free Trade Agreements and all products, the Rules of Origin for finished tobacco products would be specific to that agreement. The exact rules will be discussed and decided through the negotiations, which, in this case, are still ongoing. The UK and EU have held substantial discussions on Rules of Origin and Defra has supported these conversations.
Source: Hansard, 20 November 2020
PQ2: Tobacco: Litter
Asked by Dr Matthew Offord Conservative, Hendon
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has received an offer from (a) Philip Morris International, (b) Imperial Brands, (c) Japan Tobacco International and (d) British American Tobacco to tackle litter from their products following the ministerial round table held by his Department in September 2020 on that matter; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to mandate such a scheme.
Answered by Rebecca Pow, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Opportunities
We believe that the tobacco industry must take responsibility for the litter created by its products. Since the roundtable, we understand that Keep Britain Tidy has been working with the tobacco industry to develop a non-regulatory producer responsibility scheme for smoking related litter.
We are watching this work with interest as it could provide a more rapid means of securing significant investment from the industry to tackle this litter than taking legislative action. We have been clear that any such scheme must be developed in accordance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the FCTC guidelines and the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control.
If smoking related litter continues to be a significant environmental concern, we will reflect on the steps the Government can take to ensure that the tobacco industry takes more responsibility. Measures in the Environment Bill will allow us to legislate for an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for tobacco products, if such an intervention was considered necessary.
Cigarette and tobacco product packaging will be covered by the reforms to the packaging producer responsibility scheme.
Source: Hansard, 20 November 2020
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-11-12/114838
PQ3: Tobacco: Import Duties
Asked by Emily Thornberry Labour, Islington South and Finsbury
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on (a) the average prices, (b) consumption, and (c) tax revenues deriving from the sale of duty-paid tobacco products in the UK of the imposition of the UK global tariff on imports of finished tobacco products from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Greg Hands, Minister of State Department for International Trade.
We will publish more analysis in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) alongside the legislation, as is standard practice.
However, it is difficult to predict how quickly consumer prices will be impacted, particularly as there may still be some adjustment costs associated with no longer operating under EU rules and regulations.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish a final estimate of UK Global Tariff (UKGT) tariff revenue at the next fiscal event.
Source: Hansard, 20 November 2020
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