Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement powers available to county council Trading Standards services on tackling the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products on the high street.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon member to the answer on 27 October 2025 to UIN 84365 Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Smuggling.
Operation CeCe is a joint UK-wide initiative between HMRC and Trading Standards to target the illicit tobacco trade. Since it began in January 2021, the operation has removed more than 74 million illicit cigarettes, 19,750kg of hand-rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale [1].
In 2023 new sanctions were introduced to support the work that Trading Standards do at retail level. They allow Trading Standards to make a referral into HMRC in relation to their tobacco seizures. HMRC can then then investigate and issue civil sanctions, including penalties of up to £10,000.
At Budget 2025, the Government set out its plans to tackle rogue retailers who breach tobacco and vape regulations, by taking the power in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco and vape products. This will strengthen enforcement and support legitimate businesses. The government is also legislating to introduce the Vaping Duty Stamps scheme from 1 October 2026, which requires all vaping products manufactured or imported into the UK to have a duty stamp on packaging so illicit products are immediately identifiable.
[1] Over £1.4 million in penalties issued as crackdown on illegal tobacco accelerates
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department has taken to help support Trading Standards services in Suffolk in responding to organised criminal activity linked to the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon member to the answer on 27 October 2025 to UIN 84365 Electronic Cigarettes and Tobacco: Smuggling.
Operation CeCe is a joint UK-wide initiative between HMRC and Trading Standards to target the illicit tobacco trade. Since it began in January 2021, the operation has removed more than 74 million illicit cigarettes, 19,750kg of hand-rolling tobacco and almost 175kg of shisha products from sale [1].
In 2023 new sanctions were introduced to support the work that Trading Standards do at retail level. They allow Trading Standards to make a referral into HMRC in relation to their tobacco seizures. HMRC can then then investigate and issue civil sanctions, including penalties of up to £10,000.
At Budget 2025, the Government set out its plans to tackle rogue retailers who breach tobacco and vape regulations, by taking the power in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco and vape products. This will strengthen enforcement and support legitimate businesses. The government is also legislating to introduce the Vaping Duty Stamps scheme from 1 October 2026, which requires all vaping products manufactured or imported into the UK to have a duty stamp on packaging so illicit products are immediately identifiable.
[1] Over £1.4 million in penalties issued as crackdown on illegal tobacco accelerates
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending to county councils the provisions of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 on issuing closure notices in cases of illegal trading of tobacco and vaping products on the high street.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The closure power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, enables police or local councils - including county councils where there is no district council - to close premises quickly which are being used to commit nuisance or disorder.
The closure power, along with all the powers in the 2014 Act, is deliberately local in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether its use is appropriate and meets the legal test in the specific circumstances.
The global supply of illicit tobacco is significant and the high profit margins continue to attract organised criminal networks. HMRC are fully aware of this threat and take robust, coordinated action in response. Working in close partnership across government, we target production at its source, intercept illicit products at the border and in retail environments, and pursue and prosecute those involved in the illicit tobacco trade.
Stubbing out the problem: A new strategy to tackle illicit tobacco - GOV.UK sets out how HMRC, Border Force and partner agencies tackle illicit tobacco. It seeks to target loopholes at all stages of the supply chain, to keep ahead of the criminals. The strategy:
National Trading Standards plays a key part in tackling illicit tobacco at a local level. It provides both a visible and tangible deterrent that organised criminality and anti-social behaviour surrounding the supply of illicit tobacco will not be tolerated. HMRC values the close working partnership it has with National Trading Standards through Operation CeCe and is committed to building on its success by increasing the level of funding available to Trading Standards. This means that we can have an even greater impact in tackling the illicit tobacco trade, undertaking more visits, creating more disruption, detecting and seizing more illicit product, tackling underage sales and reducing community harm.
HMRC is progressing preparations for the 1 October 2026 introduction of Vaping Products Duty with a strong focus on compliance readiness and illicit market risk.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that businesses operating in high‑risk sectors are aware of the foreign bribery indicators published by the Serious Fraud Office and Five Eyes partners.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The government takes foreign bribery risks seriously and is committed to helping businesses identify and prevent them. This is why in December 2025, this government published the new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy. The strategy seeks to bring more corrupt actors to justice, prevents them benefitting from their illicit wealth, tackles vulnerabilities to corruption at home and builds resilience overseas. It also commits to helping UK businesses to combat bribery through the Serious Fraud Office’s crime prevention capability and a new online anti bribery resource collection for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Serious Fraud Office, working with its Five Eyes partners, has published indicators to help businesses recognise potential bribery risks. These indicators are available on the Serious Fraud Office website.
The Department for Business and Trade supports this work by signposting guidance to high-risk sectors and encouraging businesses to embed these indicators into their compliance and due diligence processes.
The government will continue to work with enforcement agencies and international partners to raise awareness and strengthen the UK’s approach to preventing foreign bribery, in line with the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommendations.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the health risks associated with (a) unlicensed or (b) illicit medicines among patients in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines, which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
Sourcing weight loss medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving a product which is either falsified or not authorised for human use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict standards for quality, safety, and efficacy and can therefore expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.
Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. It works closely with other health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners, including e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.
The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, the MHRA and its partners seized approximately 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines with a street value of more than £37 million.
During the same period, it disrupted approximately 190,000 website and social media links responsible for advertising medicinal products illegally. Additionally, collaboration with one well-known online marketplace led to the successful identification and blocking of more than 1.5 million unregulated prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices before they could be offered for sale to the public.
The MHRA is continually developing new and innovative ways to combat the illegal trade in medicines and to raise public awareness. These measures include:
publication of a #Fakemeds campaign which explains how to access medicines through safe and legitimate online sources, with further information available at the following link:
https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/;
public guidance on how to safely access and use GLP-1 medications, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know;
development of an online service which allows the public to check if a website has been deemed ‘Not Recommended’ by the MHRA;
development of a web-based reporting scheme allowing the public to report suspicious online sellers to the MHRA; and
extensive work with media outlets to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal medicines.
The MHRA’s continued efforts have led to more medicines being seized than ever before, significant custodial sentences for offenders, the forfeiture of criminal profits and considerable success in disrupting the illegal supply of medicines.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the sale and distribution of illicit or unlicensed medicines in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply, and advertising of medicines, which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
Sourcing weight loss medicines from unregulated suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving a product which is either falsified or not authorised for human use. Products purchased in this way will not meet the MHRA’s strict standards for quality, safety, and efficacy and can therefore expose patients to incorrect dosages or dangerous ingredients.
Public safety is the number one priority for the MHRA, and its Criminal Enforcement Unit works hard to prevent, detect, and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. It works closely with other health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners, including e-commerce and the internet industry to identify, remove and block online content promoting the illegal sale of medicines and medical devices.
The MHRA seeks to identify and, where appropriate, prosecute online sellers responsible for putting public health at risk. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, the MHRA and its partners seized approximately 17 million doses of illegally traded medicines with a street value of more than £37 million.
During the same period, it disrupted approximately 190,000 website and social media links responsible for advertising medicinal products illegally. Additionally, collaboration with one well-known online marketplace led to the successful identification and blocking of more than 1.5 million unregulated prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and medical devices before they could be offered for sale to the public.
The MHRA is continually developing new and innovative ways to combat the illegal trade in medicines and to raise public awareness. These measures include:
publication of a #Fakemeds campaign which explains how to access medicines through safe and legitimate online sources, with further information available at the following link:
https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/;
public guidance on how to safely access and use GLP-1 medications, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know/glp-1-medicines-for-weight-loss-and-diabetes-what-you-need-to-know;
development of an online service which allows the public to check if a website has been deemed ‘Not Recommended’ by the MHRA;
development of a web-based reporting scheme allowing the public to report suspicious online sellers to the MHRA; and
extensive work with media outlets to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal medicines.
The MHRA’s continued efforts have led to more medicines being seized than ever before, significant custodial sentences for offenders, the forfeiture of criminal profits and considerable success in disrupting the illegal supply of medicines.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the extent of operation of third-party audit of gold refineries in the different global centres of the gold trade including the UAE, Turkey and Switzerland.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The trade of illicit gold funds undermines the rule of law and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As the UK is an OECD member, businesses in the UK apply the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had at international level concerning work to close the regulatory and enforcement loopholes that allow the trade in conflict gold.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The trade of illicit gold funds undermines the rule of law and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As the UK is an OECD member, businesses in the UK apply the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the compliance of UK-based companies with the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas as that code applies to Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The trade of illicit gold funds undermines the rule of law and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As the UK is an OECD member, businesses in the UK apply the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of global compliance with the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas as that code applies to Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The trade of illicit gold funds undermines the rule of law and perpetuates human rights abuses. Gold extraction and smuggling operations represent a significant loss to Sudan and undermine effective resource governance. The UK Government engages with the gold industry, in particular the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council, as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support responsible sourcing and rigorous due diligence standards to enhance resilience to illicit gold and identify malign actors in the supply chain. As the UK is an OECD member, businesses in the UK apply the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk areas, including the LBMA. The UK is a global leader in tackling illicit gold flows, recently hosting a joint FCDO-HMRC Gold Conference and launching a public-private partnership with industry to clamp down on illicit flows.