Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the EU Tobacco Products Directive will have on the independent retail sector in the UK.

The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments specifically look at the impacts on small and micro businesses including retailers. All of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.