Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will hold discussions with the food industry on reducing the sugar content in (a) food and (b) drink products.

As she has done in previous ministerial roles, the current Secretary of State will recuse herself on departmental issues relating to outside interests, all of which have been declared to the House and under the Ministerial Code.

Discussions have been held with businesses by the Minister for Public Health, and officials, since 2015, on the actions they can take to reduce the sugar content of food and drink products.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) came in to force in April 2018. Between 2015 and 2020, levels of sugar in drinks subject to SDIL reduced by 46%, removing over 45,000 tonnes of sugar, while sales increased by approximately 21%. The reductions were spread evenly across all socio-economic groups.

Milk based drinks are excluded from the levy but are included in the voluntary sugar reduction programme. To date, sugar and calories in pre-packed milk based drinks sold through retail have reduced by 29.7% and 20%, respectively. Pre-packed milk substitute drinks have reduced sugar and calories by 6.9% and 8%, respectively.

The voluntary sugar reduction programme also includes the foods that contribute most to the sugar intakes of children aged up to 18 years old. Between 2015 and 2020, reductions in sugar levels were seen in all categories, with breakfast cereals and yogurts and fromage frais showing the greatest change with reductions of 14.9% and 13.5%, respectively, and removing 21,960 tonnes of sugar.