Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a tax on ultra-processed foods.

A fit and healthy population is essential for a thriving economy. Reducing rates of obesity, along with preventing ill health, remains a priority for the Government.

The ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, published in April 2025, seeks ways to encourage producers to remove added sugar from soft drinks. It sets out proposals to reduce the minimum sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5g to 4g sugar per 100ml, and to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks with added sugar. These changes are estimated to reduce calorie consumption by 15 million kcal per day in children and 46 million kcal per day in adults, achieving health and economic benefits of around £4.2 billion over 25 years.

More broadly, the Government has stated its intention to work with the food industry to consider the available levers to encourage further food and drink reformulation, in a way that protects consumers and is focused on voluntary and regulatory measures in the first instance. For example, the voluntary sugar reduction programme has reduced levels of sugar by around 15% in breakfast cereals, over 13% in yogurts and fromage frais and around 7% in ice creams and sorbets between 2015 and 2020.

The Government is also taking forward a number of further actions to make it easier for consumers to have a healthier diet. This includes restricting television and online advertising of less healthy foods to children, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16s, and restricting the locations in supermarkets where products high in salt and sugar can be placed.