Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the strategic objectives of his departmental delegation will be at the eighth conference of the parties to the World Health Organisation framework convention on tobacco control in October 2018.

The United Kingdom Government will be represented at the eighth Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on tobacco control (FCTC) by three officials from the Department and the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union. The delegation will be led by Tim Baxter, Deputy Director of Healthy Behaviours at the Department.

A figure for the costs associated with attendance at the CoP is not yet available. Every effort has been made to keep costs to a minimum to ensure value for money.

As a world leader in tobacco control the UK has been, and will continue to be, a highly active participant in the FCTC. The UK will participate in the CoP as a member state of the European Union. The UK will continue to support measures to reduce global harms from tobacco, building on its strong domestic record in reducing smoking, and will work to ensure that the work of the FCTC secretariat is both effective and provides value for money.