Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on his Department's officials meeting representatives of the tobacco industry in an official capacity.

Our policy on meeting with representatives from the tobacco industry in an official capacity is laid out in the “Guidance for Overseas Posts on support to the Tobacco Industry”. This was drafted in 2013 to ensure that our engagement with the tobacco industry is compatible with our World Health Organisation obligations on tobacco control.

The guidance is circulated annually to all staff and, in the interests of transparency, is published for viewing at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/287119/Guidance_for_Overseas_Posts_on_support_to_the_Tobacco_Industry.pdf.