Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of changes to Soft Drinks Industry Levy thresholds on trade with the Republic of Ireland.

An assessment of economic and other impacts is included as part of the ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation document. This is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy.

The indicative Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) analysis estimates that the changes would reduce calories, across the UK population, by around 15 million kcal per day in children and 46 million kcal per day in adults. These calorie reductions could achieve health and economic benefits of around £4.2 billion over 25 years.

The proposed changes were subject to a consultation, which was open until 21 July 2025. The Government will consider the consultation responses closely prior to making any decision at a future Budget. If the Government decides to make changes to the levy, it will publish an updated assessment of the confirmed policy’s impacts.