Edwin Poots MLA and Deputy Mayor of Lisburn.

I thank Members once again for their support. I thank the Committee for its co-operation. We have worked closely together on these issues. I know that the Committee is there as a watchdog, but I believe that, as far as possible, on the many things on which we can co-operate and work with each other, we can get good outcomes for the people we serve, which is very useful.

I believe that this is good legislation. It was brought forward by my predecessor, and I always supported it throughout that term of the Assembly.

As Mr Wells rightly points out, people lose their lives as a result of the misuse of sunbeds. That is something that we wish to reduce and, if possible, eliminate. This legislation takes us a step along that way. I am particularly pleased that we are targeting younger people very strongly. The last thing we want is for teenagers to have permanent damage or for their lives to be shortened considerably as a result of that damage.

Once again, I thank all Members for their support thus far. As I indicated, I think that this is a step in the right direction for the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That the draft Sunbeds (Fixed Penalty) (Amount) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 be approved.

Adjourned at 4.50 pm.

I thank the Committee and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland for the helpful role that they played in all this. It has been good to work in partnership to bring the order forward. The order is a positive move, and it got a broad welcome from the House and beyond, so that is good news.

In response to Mr McClarty, we will be very happy to have discussions with the Pharmaceutical Society in due course to look at the best way to move things forward after the order has been approved.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That the draft Pharmacy (1976 Order) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012 be approved.

I beg to move

That the draft Sunbeds (Fixed Penalty) (Amount) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 be approved.

I seek the Assembly’s approval to introduce the aforementioned statutory rule. Subject to the Assembly’s approval, the rule will outline the amount of fixed penalties to be applied to certain offences in the Sunbeds Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. The Sunbeds Act received Royal Assent on 3 May 2011. It had a positive response and a smooth passage through the previous Assembly, and my Department promised to enact most of the Act’s main measures within 12 months of its receiving Royal Assent. Those measures entail three sets of regulations and two commencement orders.

The Sunbeds Act allows an authorised officer of a district council to issue a fixed penalty notice if there is reason to believe that a person has committed an offence under particular sections of the Act. The regulations that we are debating outline the amount of those fixed penalties, which were increased from those proposed in the consultation. Many of the responses to the consultation said that the proposed fixed penalties were an insufficient deterrent. I believe that the proposed new fixed penalties are more proportionate to the fines available on summary conviction. All but one of the proposed fixed penalties is set at £250. The fixed penalties outlined in the regulations have been agreed by the Executive and the Health Committee.

One fixed penalty, which is set at £50, remains lower than the rest. It relates to section 6 of the Act, which provides that it is an offence for an operator of a sunbed premises to provide or display any material that contains statements relating to the health effects of sunbed use. The fine on summary conviction of that offence is £200. The fine is lower than the other offences to keep it proportionate to the offence and to ensure compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically article 10, which deals with the right to freedom of expression. These regulations allow district councils to deal with offences committed under the Sunbeds Act without the need to take all offences to the courts. The intention is that only persistent offenders will be referred to the courts.