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** 29 September 2021
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** UK
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** Cigarette butts blighted Penzance after Tour of Britain extravaganza (#1)
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** South Bristol shops closed amid crackdown on illegal tobacco sales (#2)
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** NHS backlog disproportionately affecting England's most deprived (#3)
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** Trusts and ICSs miss out on millions after NHSE shifted goalposts (#4)
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** International
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** Smoking in cafes and restaurants banned in Kyrgyzstan (#5)
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** Parliamentary Activity
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** Parliamentary questions (#6)
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** UK
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**

Campaign group Sustainable Penzance has called on the council in Cornwall to install special bins after cigarette butts were found to be the most common piece of rubbish at the Tour of Britain. Cornwall hosted the UK’s biggest road cycling event earlier this month (September).

Rachel Yates of Sustainable Penzance said that volunteers had been forced to clean up the streets following the event. Yates said that the number of cigarette butts found outweighed other pieces of rubbish like plastic bottles, reflecting a similar theme across the city in general as cigarette butts are one of the most common pieces of rubbish found during the group’s city-wide litter picks.

Source: Cornwall Live, 28 September 2021
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** Two shops in south Bristol could be shut for months due to illegal tobacco sales. The shops were ordered to close for 48 hours on Tuesday 28 September and could be closed for up to three months at a court hearing on Thursday 30 September.

Councillor Nicola Beech, Bristol City Council's cabinet member for climate, ecology, waste, and energy, said that the "action demonstrates our determination not to tolerate the sale of illegal tobacco products in our city and to pursue action against those that supply and sell them." The closure notices were served by council officers supported by Avon and Somerset Police following an extensive investigation into the sale of illicit products at the shops, visited on several occasions over the past few weeks.

Source: ITV, 28 September 2021
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** New research has found that the NHS backlog is disproportionately affecting people in poorer areas amid a stark warning that waiting lists are likely to “grow significantly” because millions of people did not seek help during the pandemic. The analysis by the King’s Fund found that waiting lists for routine treatments have grown by 50% in the most deprived parts of England compared with nearly 35% in the most affluent areas, whilst those in deprived areas were also nearly twice as likely as those in the wealthiest to wait more than a year for treatment.

The thinktank analysed the backlog of 5.61 million people, equivalent to almost one in every 10 people in England. It found that of patients on waiting lists in the most deprived areas, 7% have been waiting a year or more for treatment compared with 4% of those in the most affluent areas. The King’s Fund and Healthwatch also released a poll showing that of 1,600 people on the waiting list or with a loved one in need of treatment, 54% said it was affecting their mental health. Healthwatch set out a series of recommendations, calling for “interim support” such as physiotherapy, pain relief and mental health support, and for the NHS to “reprioritise” treatment if people’s needs changed.

Meanwhile, a separate Health Foundation analysis found that the NHS waiting list was likely to “grow significantly” after 7.5 million fewer people were sent for hospital care than expected during the pandemic. The study looked at figures between January 2020 and July 2021 and suggested that the dip in referrals could have been because people put off seeking care during the pandemic or had seen their GP “but not yet been referred due to the pressure on hospital services”.

Source: The Guardian, 27 September 2021
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** See also:
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** The King's Fund and Healthwatch - People living in the poorest areas waiting longer for hospital treatment: The King’s Fund and Healthwatch England share new analysis ([link removed])

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** The Health Foundation - Elective care: how has COVID-19 affected the waiting list? ([link removed])
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Read Article ([link removed])


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** Trusts and commissioners have confirmed that they lost out on millions of pounds after NHS England changed funding rules three months into the financial year. HSJ has seen declarations from multiple local NHS organisations confirming that they will get either no income or substantially less than expected from the national “elective recovery fund” (ERF) after NHSE changed the activity thresholds required to access the money. The changes have helped NHSE to avoid substantial costs.

The thresholds that integrated care systems (ICSs) must meet to earn money from the ERF were increased from July 2021 to 95% of 2019-20 activity levels up from the original target of 85% set out when the ERF was announced in March 2021. ICS leaders accused NHSE of “not just [moving] the goalposts” but “[taking] the entire pitch” when the threshold changes were announced.

Now board papers from several organisations have confirmed that they or their local system has lost substantial funds. Sir Andrew Cash, system lead for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw ICS, said that raising the threshold would impact on planned income by around £22m whilst North Cumbria Integrated Care Foundation Trust expected to incur losses of £2m between July and September. Both Durham Clinical Commissioning Groups and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital trust said that they expected not to receive any further income between July and September.

Source: HSJ, 27 September 2021
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** International
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** Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has signed a law prohibiting the smoking of cigarettes, hookahs, and mixtures in cafes, restaurants, and bars. The Cabinet of Ministers will now turn to the adoption of the secondary legislation necessary for regulation of this law, with specific sanctions expected to be introduced for violations of the law. This secondary legislation will also introduce specific sanctions for smoking closer than 10 metres to bus stops and 100 metres to educational institutions, healthcare organisations, and other facilities.

Source: Akipress, 29 September 2021
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Read Article ([link removed])


** Parliamentary Activity
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**
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** PQ1: British American Tobacco: Corruption

Asked by Bob Blackman, Harrow East

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** To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the BBC Panorama programme of 12 September 2021, whether the Serious Fraud Office plans to review its assessment of the compliance of British American Tobacco with the Bribery Act 2010 in response to the findings of the Panorama programme.

Answered by Alex Chalk, Solicitor General
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** Following a three-year investigation into British American Tobacco, in January 2021 the SFO determined that this case did not meet the evidential tests as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. As with all cases that fail this first limb of the Code, it was therefore not in the public interest to continue with the investigation.
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** The SFO is aware of the allegations made in the BBC's Panorama programme of 12 September 2021 and will review and assess any material which is provided to it.
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**
Source: Hansard, 29 September 2021 ([link removed])
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** PQ2: British American Tobacco: Fraud
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**
Asked by Bob Blackman, Harrow East

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** To ask the Attorney General, what plans she has to refer the allegations made in the BBC's Panorama programme of 12 September 2021 regarding British American Tobacco to the Serious Fraud Office.
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** Answered by Alex Chalk, Solicitor General
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**
The SFO is aware of the allegations made in the BBC's Panorama programme of 12 September 2021. Following a three-year investigation into the British American Tobacco, in January 2021 the SFO determined that this case did not meet the evidential tests as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. As with all cases that fail this first limb of the Code, it was therefore not in the public interest to continue with the investigation.
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** The SFO continues to assist its international law enforcement partners with ongoing investigations related to this matter and will assess any new material it receives. The SFO does not comment on the actions it takes to assess allegations.

Source: Hansard, 29 September 2021 ([link removed])
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** PQ3: Robert Mugabe: British American Tobacco
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** Asked by Lord Young of Cookham

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** To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allegations in the BBC's Panorama programme on 13 September that British American Tobacco paid a bribe to the then President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe.
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** Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton, Life Peer
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**
Following a three-year investigation into British American Tobacco, in January 2021 the SFO determined that this case did not meet the evidential tests as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. As with all cases that fail this first limb of the Code, it was therefore not in the public interest to continue with the investigation.
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** The SFO is aware of the allegations made in the BBC's Panorama programme in September 2021.
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** The SFO continues to assist its international law enforcement partners with ongoing investigations related to this matter, and will assess any new material on its merits, as with any allegation of serious fraud, bribery or corruption. The SFO does not disclose the actions it takes to assess allegations.
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** Source: Hansard, 29 September 2021 ([link removed])
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