Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what is their strategy to prevent
childhood obesity?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health
and Social Care () (Con)
We are working with the food industry to ensure that it is easier
for people to make healthier choices and increase progress on the
reformulation of foods. In addition, there is a range of support
to help children living with obesity and being overweight to
achieve and maintain a healthier weight.
(CB)
I thank the noble Lord for that very brief Answer. I wondered
whether, in the current spirit of U-turns, the noble Lord could
tell the House whether the Government will reverse their initial
idea of reviewing the policies agreed by the previous Tory
Government to ban two for the price of one offers on unhealthy
food and to restrict advertising of foods high in fat, sugar and
salt to kids during the times they watch TV. Health campaigners
and medical professionals have called the possible reversal of
this decision staggering and an incredible blow to the health of
this country. I would be grateful for anything the noble Lord
could add.
(Con)
I thank the noble Baroness for bringing this issue before us. I
know that she is a passionate campaigner in this area, with a
strong track record. I like to believe that we have had a
multi-pronged strategy, because this is a complex area. Look at
the four areas the OECD recommends in terms of addressing this
complex issue. First, on information and education, we have been
working very strongly on education programmes, labelling and the
traffic lights, and with menus and restaurants. Secondly, on
increasing healthy choices, again, we have worked with industry
on recipes. Thirdly, on modifying cost, obviously the sugar tax
has shown big reductions there. Lastly, on the restrictions on
promotions and placements, again, 1 October saw us change the way
items are presented to take away some of the problems of pester
power. There is a big formulation of approaches. It is probably
appropriate at the moment, with so much going on, that we seek to
review their success. I know that the delay in the timings is all
about giving ourselves that opportunity.
(Con)
My Lords, could the 40 million people in this country who are
obese or overweight be encouraged to become familiar with the
medical fact that, if they were to make do with one less meal a
day, it would help their health and the NHS and they would live
to a normal age not plagued by dozens of very unpleasant
diseases?
(Con)
I thank and agree with my noble friend. He is correct. The cost
of obesity to the NHS amounts to around £6.5 billion a year;
obviously, this is in addition to not being very good for the
people concerned in terms of healthy lifestyles. That is why we
have a programme of action, as I outlined. This is something we
feel it is important for us to get on with, not just for children
but, as the noble Lord referred to, to help adults in this area
as well.
(CB)
My Lords, last year, the Government published a report on the
promotion of food. I shall quote a few sentences from it:
“Although promotions appear to be mechanisms to help consumers
save money, data shows that they increase consumer spending by
encouraging people to buy more than they intended to buy in the
first place … The latest data shows that we buy almost 20% more
as a direct result of promotions. Consumers typically do not
stockpile these extra purchases to take advantage of the lower
price, instead they increase their consumption.”
It went on to say that the latest data
“shows that shoppers who buy more of their food and drink on
promotion tend to purchase more HFSS”—
high-fat, sugar and salt—
“products, in greater volume, and are more likely to be
overweight or living with obesity.”
Does the Minister agree with this analysis, published by his
Government last year? If so, what are the Government doing about
it in policy terms?
(Con)
I thank the noble Lord. The figures to which he refers are a
mixture of the pricing of these so-called “buy one, get one
free”-type promotions and their positioning in a supermarket. In
fact, the data shows that as much as a 50% increase in sales can
be driven by where these promotions are placed in a supermarket.
That is why the focus now is on what changes will be made on 1
October to reduce the purchase of a lot of the types of food
groups we are talking about by moving them away from prominent
areas. Once we see the results of those changes, we will be in a
position to review some of the pricing and promotions to which
the noble Lord refers.
(LD)
My Lords, this morning, this month’s Chancellor reversed nearly
all last month’s Chancellor’s tax changes. Meanwhile, increasing
levels of childhood obesity are adding considerably to the cost
to the NHS of treating conditions such as diabetes. Can the
Minister confirm the commitment to the soft drinks industry levy,
which has been successful in reducing the level of sugar in soft
drinks and provides funds for sporting activities in schools and
school breakfast clubs?
(Con)
My Lords, as the House will be aware, the tax on sugar in drinks
has reduced consumption of sugar by 44%, so I totally agree with
the sentiment. We have been successful in this. We are looking to
improve in the area of sugary food, where we have managed to
reduce some of that content by as much as 13%.
(Lab)
My Lords, has the Minister seen the startling statistics showing
the number of economically inactive people aged 50 and over, much
of which is caused by ill health, with obesity thought to play a
major role. Given that, why on earth do the Government need to
fudge around and review? Why do they not get on with an assertive
campaign to tackle obesity?
(Con)
I do not believe that we are fudging around. Noble Lords will see
some very firm action. If the noble Lord goes into the
supermarkets today, he will see a very big difference in how you
see the food. There are big changes. I totally agree on the
importance of this. I was the lead NED of the DWP, so I know how
many inactive people there are in the workforce and how much
better it will be for them and the economy if we can get them
active and into work. I completely agree with the sentiment and
the action that we are taking to drive it forward.
My Lords, the National Food Strategy to tackle obesity, the new
tobacco control plan and the health disparities White Paper were
key to the Government’s aim to level-up health. The most recent
NHS Providers report found that 95% of trust leaders said that
the cost of living had either significantly or severely worsened
health inequalities in the local area. Given the worsening
situation, can the Minister confirm when the health disparities
White Paper will be published? If not, can he point to what else
the Government are doing to reduce inequalities in health?
(Con)
I thank the right reverend Prelate. I agree with the sentiment of
the question. We see figures whereby, as I am sure we are aware,
the least deprived people will have half the levels of obesity of
some of the more highly deprived ones. On education and the need
to look at those inequalities, I agree. I cannot yet commit to a
date when the inequalities report will be published; I do not
have that information. However, as soon as I know, I will let the
House know.
(Con)
My Lords, this Government have done two things which cannot be
criticised. One is to appoint my noble friend as a Health
Minister; he is a welcome addition to this House. The second is
to junk the ban on junk food advertising. There is no evidence
that junk food advertising has an impact on obesity. It is an
anti-growth measure that restricts our broadcasters’ ability to
generate revenue. For as long as he is in his post—the next six
or so days—I hope that he maintains this policy.
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for his warm wishes and his wishes for my
longevity in this position. I agree that on the scale of carrot
and stick with these sorts of measures, we come down much more
towards the carrot and the use of education to promote the right
sort of food, rather than the stick, and that is what we are
seeing in terms of results.
(Lab)
My Lords, analysis of the national child weight management
programme by the Local Government Association has found that not
only are the Government heading towards missing their goal of
halving child obesity by 2030 but, on current trajectories,
childhood obesity is increasing. Do the Government remain
committed to their target and if they are, what will they do
differently?
(Con)
My understanding is that the figures for childhood obesity have
been fairly flat for a number of years, apart from for the year
of Covid, when they all went up. The year after that, they came
down again. To me, that demonstrates the importance of free
school meals and the action we are taking there for people to
have good, calorific and sensible types of food. We have seen
significant reductions in childhood obesity in the last year. To
my mind, what is important in all this is the emphasis we are
putting on the free school meals programme. We have the highest
ever number of people on free school meals, up from 15% in 2015
to 23% today. Part of that is free school meals for all infant
schoolchildren, so that we can make sure that their food is as
healthy as possible.
