Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an illicit tobacco taskforce.

In the illicit tobacco strategy titled ‘Stubbing out the problem’, the Government committed to establishing a multi-agency illicit tobacco taskforce to co-ordinate enforcement activity, involving staff from HMRC, Border Force and Trading Standards and working closely with other law enforcement and intelligence partners.

This team is now in place and contributing to efforts to tackle illicit tobacco across all relevant departments.