Part of 2. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 4 July 2017.
Carwyn Jones
Labour
2:02,
4 July 2017
It is a matter ultimately for the HMRC to enforce any breaches of excise law. That is not a reason to lower taxes, obviously, on tobacco—the Member’s not suggesting that, in fairness to him. But it is hugely important that people are able to provide intelligence to the enforcement agencies and, of course, I know that checks are carried out at the airports, particularly from areas that are seen as areas of risk when it comes to importing tobacco and cigarettes, particularly from jurisdictions where the prices are very, very low. But, obviously, we seek to work with HMRC in order to reduce and eliminate smuggling.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
