Ban on young people smoking in doubt after exclusion from Commons schedule

The future of Rishi Sunak’s bill banning young people from ever being able to smoke tobacco legally is in doubt after it was not mentioned among the final business in the House of Commons before the general election.

The leader of the Commons, Penny Mordaunt, did not include the tobacco and vapes bill as she set out the legislation that could be rushed through by MPs before parliament is prorogued on Friday, during a period known as “wash-up”.

However, addressing MPs on Thursday, Mordaunt said cross-party negotiations were continuing over the future of bills not included in the schedule.

Mordaunt also failed to mention the football governance bill, which would establish an independent regulator, or the renters’ reform bill, which was expected to pave the way for an end to no-fault evictions.

But she did include the bills enabling compensation to be paid to the victims of the contaminated blood scandal, and for post office operators caught up in the Horizon IT scandal to be exonerated.

The tobacco and vapes bill is considered a key element of Sunak’s political legacy and has been supported by opposition parties.

The legislation received a second reading in the Commons last month but made no further progress, meaning it stands to fall once the house prorogues before the dissolution of parliament.

The bill would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009, with the aim of creating a “smoke-free” generation.

Mordaunt gave assurances to victims of the infected blood scandal that “this government stands by the commitments made earlier this week”.

She added: “There is a clear desire across the house to ensure that legislation to compensate those who have been infected and affected as a result of this scandal is passed and it will be done so on a cross-party basis.”

Mordaunt said MPs would consider Lords amendments to the relevant legislation, the victims and prisoners bill, on Friday. This will include provision for the compensation scheme to be established within three months of the bill receiving royal assent.

She added: “I want to give this government’s commitment to those victims that subject to both houses, which I am sure we will receive, the legislation to quash the convictions of those sentenced will be secured before the house prorogues.

“If I can deviate from my script briefly, we will not leave this place until we have done our duty by those people.”

Addressing the issue of government bills that remain outstanding, she said: “Other bills are going through discussions about remaining business which will be done on a cross-party basis, and it is common practice during wash-up that negotiations will be ongoing and we will hope to update the house on further business.”

Fourteen government bills are making their way through parliament, with five carried over from the previous parliamentary session and the remainder included for the first time in the king’s speech last year.