Extracts from Parliamentary proceedings (Soft Drinks Levy) - July 20

Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab):...I want to talk first of all about the soft drinks industry levy that the Government plan to introduce, which is better known as the sugar tax. I have great reservations about the tax, and I believe that my concerns are not unfounded. In his Budget statement earlier this year, the Chancellor admitted that the estimated amount of income from the levy would be half that which was originally predicted. The Chancellor acknowledged the excellent work being done by the soft drinks industry to combat the level of sugar in soft drinks.

In other countries where such a tax has been introduced, such as France, the US and Mexico, the impact has been minimal. In this country, the tax is badly targeted; some of the most sugary drinks, such as milk-based and yoghurt-based drinks, as well as fruit juices, have been excluded. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested that consumers may even substitute some of those other products to get their fix of sugar. The levy does nothing to help to educate consumers on reducing sugar in their diets.

I commend the soft drinks industry—I do not have a soft drinks factory or anything like that in my constituency, but I feel it is important to say this—for the work that it has done so far to address the sugar content of soft drinks. In 2015, it was the only sector in the food and drink industry that had an ambitious plan to reduce calorie intake from its products by 20% by 2020. The sector has been particularly proactive in reducing the sugar consumed in its products through reformulation, promoting diet versions of drinks and smaller portion sizes—actions that have been acknowledged by Public Health England. More than 60% of drinks now have reduced or even zero calorie content.

Independent analysis shows that the levy will lead to more than 4,000 job losses across the UK and a decline of £132 million in the UK economy, predominantly in retail and hospitality, including pubs and corner shops. Although this is planned to be a long-term tax, it is massively unstable and the IFS expects that, by 2021, because of general consumption trends and the work done by manufacturers to reduce sugar in their drinks, there will be a huge black hole in the funding of school health improvement initiatives and sports dependent on income from the levy.

The McKinsey report on tackling obesity ranked a sugar tax as 12th of the 16 least effective options in tackling obesity. If the Government are serious about their child obesity plan, they must find a more certain and secure form of funding for the many activities it needs to support, rather than the ever-decreasing levy.

There are other ways to tackle obesity. I would like the Government to consider the review of the research on the impact of milk on children’s development carried out by Northumbria University, which suggested that milk consumption generally improves children’s nutritional status. Children who regularly drink milk have lower body mass indices, lower body fat percentage and lower waist circumferences than children who rarely drink it.

In a Westminster Hall debate earlier this year, I asked the then Education Minister if the review of the standards of the child obesity plan, which is due in September, could include a commitment that children will be guaranteed access to milk in school at least once a day. I ask for that commitment again today...

James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con): It is a pleasure to follow the pop and fizz of the soft drinks speech by the hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mary Glindon), although I do urge caution. As a type 2 diabetic, I am sympathetic to not having too many sugary drinks, but there are lots of evils in those soft drinks that do not have sugar in them. When walking around my local Asda or another supermarket, I note the paradox that it is still possible to buy fizzy drinks cheaply, despite what the hon. Lady said...

The Deputy Leader of the House of Commons (Michael Ellis):...The hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mary Glindon) was complimentary to the soft drinks industry for the work it is doing on a plan to reduce sugar. There is always more that can be done, of course, as I am sure she would accept. She is right to fight against the problem of obesity, which is life-limiting and has an adverse and deleterious effect on the health of young people—on the health of people of all ages. No doubt she will continue her fight in that quarter...

Extract from Oral answer (Lords) on Obesity

Lord Robathan (Con): My Lords, in the United States life expectancy is now declining. Where America leads, we often follow. There, there are no party political points made about this but rather a general acceptance that the major factor, among others, is obesity and linked conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Will Her Majesty’s Government please redouble their efforts to educate the population, especially in schools and the NHS where they have authority, about the benefits of healthy eating and taking exercise in an attempt to avert the innumerable individual tragedies this will lead to and the terrible consequences for our health service and society?

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: We take obesity extremely seriously and have a lot of initiatives going forward such as introducing a soft drinks industry levy, which will come into effect in April. The important thing could be harnessing new technology. We need to make sure that we can get to people, particularly young people. We will work with Public Health England on good initiative ideas, and with commercial players to investigate opportunities to bring forward a suite of applications that enable consumers to make the best use of technology and data to inform their eating decisions.

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