Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on its officials engaging with representatives of the tobacco industry.

The Department’s policy of engaging with representatives of the tobacco industry is compliant with the requirements of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This treaty includes an obligation on all countries that have ratified the treaty to protect public health policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. Any engagement with the industry needs to be transparent and accountable.