Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the research basis is for the decision his Department has taken not to make calorie labelling mandatory.

Mandatory nutrition labelling, including the display of calories, for the majority of pre-packaged foods came into effect in December 2016 and is harmonised by European Union legislation.

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU may give us an opportunity to develop greater flexibility, as the exit terms are agreed, to determine what information should be presented and how it should be displayed in the UK.