Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 July 2025 to Question 66478 on Innovation: Beer and Public Houses, for what reason implementation of provisions on raising the upper alcohol limit for drinks labelled as alcohol-free to 0.5% alcohol by volume from 0.05%, proposed in the consultation entitled Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives of September 2023, is delayed.

In the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government committed to tackling harmful levels of alcohol consumption through exploring options to standardise which products can describe themselves as alcohol free. One of the first steps will be to explore raising the upper alcohol limit for drinks labelled as alcohol-free to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) from 0.05% ABV, aligning with international standards.

Alongside the plan, a large multi-year National Institute for Health and Care Research study is underway to examine the public health impacts of NoLo products, and we look forward to the findings the study being available in the coming year.