Young Children: Convenience Foods

Baroness Boycott Excerpts

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I definitely understand where the noble Lord is coming from and also share the view about where he wishes to get to on this. Cooking lessons have not been specifically included in the programme, as I believe he may be aware, but the Start for Life website and email programme has advice for parents and carers, including healthy recipes and videos on weaning babies and feeding toddlers, and that has recently been updated.

I hope the noble Lord will welcome the fact that the family hubs and the Start for Life programme are central to the Government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children. That is why we are investing approximately £57 million this year, including £18.5 million for infant feeding support.

[Baroness Boycott (CB)]

My Lords, one area that goes under the radar is sponsorship of big sports events. The Olympics has Coca Cola and McDonald’s; many other Olympic sports have things such as Monster. In particular, rugby has Red Bull. The recommended daily allowance of sugar for a child is a maximum of 24 grams. A single can of Red Bull contains not only coffee but 27 grams of sugar. It is completely anti-health, yet we allow these adverts to be all over our televisions. Some 25 years ago, the noble Baroness’s Government took the brave decision to take all cigarettes off any sporting activity. Will this Government think about doing the same for soft drinks that actually make children ill, not healthy?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

As the noble Baroness is aware, we continue to support the levy on sugar in drinks. That has actually had success, not least with reformulation. On the point about advertising to which the noble Baroness referred, as I have said, we are committed to bringing in the advertising ban, which will be in place in January. Indeed, industry—TV and online advertising—has already agreed to implement what will be in the regulations earlier than that.

Marketing sponsorship is a much broader point, but again it is one we take very seriously and continue to keep our eye on. I cannot give the noble Baroness the reassurance she seeks today, but I can assure her how seriously we take the impact of advertising and branding and who it is aimed at, particularly where we seek to support better health for infants and young people.