I have received a number of emails relating to a tax on sugar and childhood obesity.
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a ‘sugar tax’. However, it is committed to reducing obesity in the UK and its impact on public health.
The UK is the first country in Europe to introduce a voluntary, consistent front-of-pack nutritional labelling scheme; a system combining red, amber and green colour-coding and nutritional information to show how much fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, and calories are in food products. So far businesses that have signed up to the scheme sell two-thirds of food sold in the UK. I welcome the fact that some of the biggest food manufacturers in the country have committed to helping people cut their calorie consumption through reducing portion sizes and promoting healthier options. It is now much easier to see the sugar content in drinks and the drinks industry has been consistent in developing more low or no sugar options. These are a constructive range of measures and ensuring that people are educated and informed about their food, the better they will be in managing what they consume.
Ministers have said that it is a Government priority to tackle childhood obesity and the risk factors that are associated with it, such as type 2 diabetes. The Government is working closely with Public Health England and NHS England on a wide range of projects including the Change4Life programme, School Sports Funding and the School Food Plan. These actions are producing positive results with childhood obesity now levelling off.