Report by cross-party group of peers calls on Chancellor to take urgent action to address growing problem
The Government must impose taxes on foods that are high in sugar and salt to tackle Britain’s obesity crisis, a report has demanded.< /p>
The recommendation by a cross-party group of peers called on Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, to introduce the measures in a bid to deter people from buying unhealthy products.
The food, diet and obesity committee of the House of Lords also called for a lowering of the thresholds at which the soft drink sugar tax is applied.
The Government is considering several so-called “sin taxes” in next week’s Budget, which could include bringing forward levies on vapes, as it seeks to reduce illness in Britain.
Ministers have promised a “prevention revolution” to overhaul unhealthy lifestyles, with Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, warning that “changes won’t be universally popular”.
Other measures could include a ban on junk food advertisements before 9pm on television – and entirely online – along with an end to multi-buy deals on unhealthy foods and a ban on smoking outside of pubs and schools.
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has been hailed as an example of what can be achieved, after its introduction in 2018 led to a reduction in sugar intake among children and adults, while it also prompted soft drink brands to create zero sugar alternatives.
The committee’s report said thresholds for the soft drinks sugar tax should be lowered from “5g and 8g per 100ml to 4g and 7g per 100ml and bring sugary milk-based drinks into scope” within the next 18 months.
It called for a sugar and salt tax to be enforced within two years at the latest.
Boris Johnson’s administration previously commissioned Henry Dimbleby, the co-founder of restaurant chain Leon, to develop a National Food Strategy. It proposed introducing a salt and sugar tax on ultra-processed foods (UPFs). However, this was rejected in 2022.
Mr Dimbleby gave evidence to the Lords committee earlier this year, when he said the first thing he would do would be to “break the junk food cycle”, including by banning all junk food advertisements.
The committee’s report recommended the Government do this by 2029 as it reiterated some of the former food tsar’s proposals.
Baroness Walmsley, chair of the committee, said hundreds of policies over 30 years made by successive governments had “failed to reduce obesity rates”.
“This failure is largely due to policies that focused on personal choice and responsibility out of misguided fears of the ‘nanny state’,” she said. “Both the Government and the food industry must take responsibility for what has gone wrong and take urgent steps to put it right.”
She added that the stance taken by Sir Keir, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, and Lord Darzi, a former health minister, showed there was “now an appetite to shift towards prevention of ill health”.
Dr Kawther Hashem, head of research and impact at Action on Sugar, at the Queen Mary University of London, said a salt and sugar tax was “essential given that voluntary sugar and salt reduction programmes have proven less effective.”
A ban on advertising less healthy food across all media by the end of this parliament would be especially significant, as research suggests it can strongly influence children’s eating habits from an early age and promote unhealthy options.
Prof Tim Spector, the co-founder of ZOE and a professor of epidemiology, who contributed to the report, said it provided “a damning overview with long-overdue suggestions for change”.
“The evidence is clear: UPFs are driving obesity, diabetes and other diseases, yet change is painfully slow because the industry puts profit before people,” he said.
“It’s a national scandal and we need clear action with decisive timelines from a committed government. This will mean urgent, bold action to overhaul the food we and our children are consuming to get our health back on track.”
Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “This report reveals the lengths to which food and drink companies have gone to avoid regulation, putting profits before public health.
“However, if the proposed recommendations are enacted, unhealthy food companies will no longer be able to hide behind misleading labels, advertise unhealthy foods, or have a seat at the table designing policy.”
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Our widening waistlines are costing the NHS and the economy billions of pounds.
“This government is committed to urgently tackling this issue head-on, shifting our focus from treatment to prevention as part of our ten-year health plan, to ease the strain on our NHS and help people to live well for longer.
“That’s why we are restricting junk food advertising on TV and online, limiting school children’s access to fast food, and banning the sale of energy drinks to under 16s.”
