Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the EU's common positions ahead of the WHO’s Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products; and whether the UK delegation plans to support those positions at that meeting in November.

The UK is a Party to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (the Protocol), which supports our objective to improve international coordination to tackle tobacco fraud at all points in the supply chain.

The UK position on the various agenda items at the coming Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Protocol is being determined in advance of the meeting and will take account of how best to achieve this objective and whether the proposals being put forward are likely to be the most effective.

No assessment has been made of any Party’s final detailed position for the MOP. However, the objectives of all Parties within the Europe region of the Protocol are often closely aligned.

The Government does not plan to make a statement.