Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce sugar consumption in the UK.

The Government is delivering mandatory and voluntary policies which support reformulation of foods and drinks to reduce levels of sugar and policies that reduce the promotion and advertising of high sugar products to children. These include the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) and a voluntary reformulation programme to encourage businesses to incrementally lower sugar levels in everyday foods. This means consumers can eat more healthily without having to change their diets.

Between 2015 and 2020 reductions had been delivered in all product categories in the sugar reduction programme. The greatest changes were reductions of 14.9% and 13.5% in average sugar levels in retailer and manufacturer branded breakfast cereals and yogurts and fromage frais, respectively. The average sugar content of drinks subject to SDIL has reduced by 46% between 2015 and 2020.

Restrictions on the placement of less healthy products in key selling locations in store and online came in to force in October 2022. Restrictions on the sale of less healthy products by volume price promotions, and on the advertising of less healthy products, are both due to be implemented from 1 October 2025 and are expected to support further sugar reduction.

The major conditions strategy: case for change and our strategic framework, published in August 2023, included a commitment to work with stakeholders and industry to reduce sugar, salt and calories in food, including in baby food and drink.