As confirmed by the Government response to the consultation on Creating a Smokefree Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping consultation, Defra is leading on implementing a ban on disposable or single-use vapes due to the environmental harm caused by these devices. On 11 March draft regulations were published along with an impact assessment, which set out the main environmental concerns. Single-use vapes are an inefficient use of finite raw materials, they are inherently difficult to recycle and are often discarded incorrectly. When littered they pose a risk to soil, water and biodiversity and are a fire risk when thrown into residual waste. A report published by Defra earlier this year provides a broader assessment of the environmental impacts of single-use vapes and can be found online here: Analysis of the market for vapes: exploring the environmental impacts of single-use vapes - EV0157 (defra.gov.uk).

Defra has not made any environmental assessment of current non-compliant vapes.

The health advice on vaping is clear, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. However, youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children have now used a vape.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will crack down on youth vaping by providing powers to regulate flavours, displays, and packaging for vapes and nicotine pouches. It will ban free vape samples being given to children, and introduce an age of sale for non-nicotine vapes.

In doing this, we must strike the right balance between reducing the appeal of vapes to children while ensuring vapes remain attractive and available to adult smokers as a quit aid. This will be carefully considered in the development of any specific restrictions, and further consultation will take place before introducing any regulations. As stated in Parliament during the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we intend to hold the consultation on the regulations before the end of this Parliament, if practicable. We will also undertake an impact assessment to consider the potential impact of these regulations on smokers as well as other groups.

The health advice on vaping is clear, if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. However, youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children have now used a vape.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will crack down on youth vaping by providing powers to regulate flavours, displays, and packaging for vapes and nicotine pouches. It will ban free vape samples being given to children, and introduce an age of sale for non-nicotine vapes.

In doing this, we must strike the right balance between reducing the appeal of vapes to children while ensuring vapes remain attractive and available to adult smokers as a quit aid. This will be carefully considered in the development of any specific restrictions, and further consultation will take place before introducing any regulations. As stated in Parliament during the second reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we intend to hold the consultation on the regulations before the end of this Parliament, if practicable. We will also undertake an impact assessment to consider the potential impact of these regulations on smokers as well as other groups.

As confirmed previously on 29 January, a ban on the supply and sale of disposable vapes was announced as part of the government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping. Defra has since published draft regulations outlining the scope and enforcement provisions for a supply ban in England along with a draft impact assessment. Final regulations and impact assessment will be published in due course. We continue to engage with relevant organisations on how best to support enforcement of a ban when it comes into force as well as exploring the potential for a future import ban.

Operation Joseph was established to enforce the rules on vaping, and tackle illicit vapes and underage sales. It supplements work being undertaken by local authorities using existing local government funding. The £3 million of funding has been allocated over two years, from 2023/24 to 2024/25. A grant was provided to the National Trading Standards to commission specific areas of work, and to support local authorities. The following table shows the budget of each work area as of February 2024, as well as the total allocated:

Note: The figures shown are based on allocations in February 2024, and may be subject to change.

Data on the number of illicit vapes seized through Operation Joseph in the financial year 2023 to 2024 will be published shortly.

Operation Joseph has identified that in the year before the Operation, 2.1 million illicit vapes were seized across England by Trading Standards from 2022 to 2023.

The health advice on vaping is clear, vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. However, youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children have now used a vape. We know that disposable vapes have played a significant role in this rise, with 69% of 11 to 17-year-olds who vape now using disposables, compared to just 7% in 2021. Disposable vapes also cause significant environmental harm, with five million disposable vapes thrown away every week.

To protect children and the environment, the Government has taken the decision to ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes.

The Impact Assessment on the disposable vape ban, published by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs on 11 March 2024, states that it is difficult to quantify the number of people switching either between different types of vapes, disposable to reusable, switching from vaping to smoking cigarettes, or stopping vaping or smoking altogether, as a result of a ban on disposable vapes.

However, reusable and refillable vapes will still be available for adult smokers to use as a quit aid and as a more affordable option than smoking. Therefore, it will not be necessary for adult vapers to return to tobacco products because refillable vapes will remain easily available to them, at a small cost relative to most tobacco products.

Payments are essential to the UK’s economy, both for individuals and for businesses, and are a cornerstone of growth and competitiveness. The government is committed to maintaining the UK’s reputation for a world-leading payments ecosystem and will publish the National Payments Vision as soon as possible later this year.

Payments are essential to the UK’s economy, both for individuals and for businesses, and are a cornerstone of growth and competitiveness. The government is committed to maintaining the UK’s reputation for a world-leading payments ecosystem and will publish the National Payments Vision as soon as possible later this year.

Payments are essential to the UK’s economy, both for individuals and for businesses, and are a cornerstone of growth and competitiveness. The government is committed to maintaining the UK’s reputation for a world-leading payments ecosystem and will publish the National Payments Vision as soon as possible later this year.

The Government has committed to increasing investment for enforcement agencies by £30 million per year. The additional funding in England will boost agencies such as local trading standards, to enforce the new age of sale and vaping measures. It will also scale up HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force activity, to stamp out opportunities for criminals in the illicit tobacco trade.

Of this funding, over £100 million over five years will support HM Revenue and Custom’s and Border Force’s new illicit tobacco strategy, published on 29 January 2024. We are working closely with Trading Standards to consider how the new funding can best support their programmes of local-level enforcement.

The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Trading Standards, and other regulatory enforcement agencies to ensure that products sold in the United Kingdom comply with regulations for all e-cigarette products, and that non-compliant products are removed from the market.

In April 2023, the Government announced £3 million investment over two years to enhance work on illicit vape enforcement. Led by National Trading Standards, this builds on existing work by local trading standards officers across the country. Through this work, they identified that 2.1 million illicit vapes were seized across England by Trading Standards between 2022 to 2023.

To strengthen our enforcement activity, the Government will also provide an additional £30 million of funding per year for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards. This increase in investment will help to stamp out criminal activity by boosting the enforcement of illicit tobacco and vapes.

The Department has not had any discussions with the UK Vaping Industry Association on its proposals for a vape retail license, though we have received written representations on this issue. There are no current plans to introduce a licensing scheme. However, the Government recognises that strong enforcement is needed to tackle underage and illicit vape sales. The new Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes provisions to issue fixed penalty notices for underage tobacco and vape sales. This will complement existing powers that local authorities have to enforce age of sale legislation including fines of up to £2,500, and for the most serious offences, court orders to prevent the offending retailer from opening for a period.

In addition, we have committed to increasing investment for our enforcement agencies by £30 million per year, and at Spring Budget the Chancellor announced that the Government will introduce a new duty on vaping products, giving HM Revenue and Customs further powers to minimise fraud, introduce civil and criminal powers to seize illicit products and equipment, and issue penalties.

The Government’s commitment to develop a national digital service to support the NHS Health Check was announced in the Health Reform speech on 8 March 2022, and forms a part of the Department’s plan for digital health and social care. The vision is to increase the flexibility and reach of the NHS Health Check through the creation of an innovative, accessible national digital service, delivered alongside local face-to-face offerings, that helps people understand and take action when engaging with their cardiovascular health. Whilst there isn't any specific policy development surrounding integrating digital technologies into care pathways, NHS England has developed an information guide that will help clarify the commissioning pathway. This will encourage the adoption of digital health technologies into the National Health Service, including those in cardiovascular diseases.

The Department is taking forward a scheme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check programme, and to deliver on recommendations from the 2021 review of the programme. We are currently focused on the development and launch of a digital NHS Health Check, to be launched later this year, and rolled out nationally over the next four years. Following the launch of a digital check, the Department will consider the evidence for, and practicality of, expanding the scope of the NHS Health Check. This will include consideration of introducing a wider range of clinical checks, and considering a younger target age group.

Local authorities can design and deliver NHS Health Checks to suit the needs of their local population. This includes who provides the service, and in what settings it is delivered. In some areas, NHS Health Checks are already delivered in community and workplace settings. To build the evidence of the feasibility and impact of this approach, we are investing up to £10 million into a pilot, to deliver cardiovascular disease checks in workplace settings during 2024/25.

The Department is taking forward a scheme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check programme, and to deliver on recommendations from the 2021 review of the programme. We are currently focused on the development and launch of a digital NHS Health Check, to be launched later this year, and rolled out nationally over the next four years. Following the launch of a digital check, the Department will consider the evidence for, and practicality of, expanding the scope of the NHS Health Check. This will include consideration of introducing a wider range of clinical checks, and considering a younger target age group.

Local authorities can design and deliver NHS Health Checks to suit the needs of their local population. This includes who provides the service, and in what settings it is delivered. In some areas, NHS Health Checks are already delivered in community and workplace settings. To build the evidence of the feasibility and impact of this approach, we are investing up to £10 million into a pilot, to deliver cardiovascular disease checks in workplace settings during 2024/25.

DWP is continually exploring the use of all types of Artificial Intelligence and its potential to support the provision of more digital services with a human touch in a safe, ethical, and considered way. Artificial Intelligence will never replace the role of our colleagues in supporting customers throughout their journey.

We are using Artificial Intelligence to undertake administrative or repetitive tasks, freeing up our colleagues to spend more time with claimants.

As part of our approach, and in-line with the Prime Minister’s Foundation Model Taskforce, DWP has created a Generative Artificial Intelligence Lighthouse Programme which will safely guide our innovation in emerging Artificial Intelligence technology. The role of this programme is to ‘test and learn’ in a safe and governed environment where all types of AI can be used to assist us in the delivery of our customer outcomes and department efficiencies. Following this test and learn approach will help us to build more certainty on the potential benefits that can be realised.

Where Artificial Intelligence is used to assist its activities in prevention and detection of fraud within UC applications, DWP always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place for the proportionate, ethical, and legal use of data with internal monitoring protocols adhered to. Through the work of departmental governance, we can always explain how the AI reaches conclusions using data.

DWP does not use AI to replace human judgement in determining or denying a payment to a claimant. Where appropriate, Equality and Data Protection Impact Assessments have been carried out.

DWP's Personal Information Charter explains how and why we use personal information and citizen’s rights and responsibilities.

As of 1200hrs Monday 23^rd October, as a result of Counter Terrorism Policing led investigations, there have been 6 arrests of individuals for publicly supporting Hamas.