Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that Trading standards are helping to prevent the illicit sale of vapes.

The Government is working closely with Trading Standards to prevent the illicit sale of vapes. On 11 April 2023, we announced £3 million of funding for National Trading Standards for a new specialised illicit vaping enforcement squad. This squad will tackle underage vape sales as well as removing illicit products from the market.

National Trading Standards have now begun the operation, gathering intelligence, training staff and bolstering capacity, and will begin field work operations in the autumn.