Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what conversations he has had with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that enforcement against non-compliant vaping products will be effectively coordinated once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is enacted.
Officials in the Department of Health and Social Care regularly meet with officials from other departments, including HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, the Office for Product Safety and Standards, Border Force, and the Home Office, as well as National Trading Standards, to share intelligence and ensure a coordinated approach to the enforcement of our rules on vaping products. This coordinated approach to enforcement will continue once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law.
Furthermore, in 2025/26, we are investing £30 million of new funding in total for enforcement agencies including Trading Standards, Border Force, and HM Revenue and Customs, to tackle the illicit and underage sale of tobacco and vapes, and to help enforce the law. As part of this, the Government is investing £10 million of new funding in 2025/26 in Trading Standards. This funding is being used to boost the Trading Standards workforce by hiring 94 apprentices across England.