Health: Obesity

Debate between Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe and Baroness Merron

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord and commend the organisation that he refers to—there are a number which are working very hard on this. We take a great interest in and seek to learn from such groups. This is a matter not just for the Department for Health and Social Care; it crosses government. We collaborate across government, particularly in pursuit of our health mission.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that alcohol is a substantial contributor to obesity and a range of related diseases? Is she aware that, notwithstanding promises given, the previous Government did not force the drinks industry to show calorific effects of their products on labels and consistently opposed doing it? Would our new Government be prepared to look at that and introduce such changes?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for raising that point. We are in the process of reviewing the evidence on front-of-pack nutrition labelling, which can include bottles as well as foods. We will consider whether any further action is needed to support healthier choices.

Food and Drink Industry: Processed Sugar

Debate between Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe and Baroness Merron

Monday 14th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to engage the food and drink industry in reformulating their products to reduce processed sugar in favour of healthier natural alternatives.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, last month, as part of our health mission shift to prevention, we published the Government’s response to the consultation on banning junk-food advertising to children, putting the legislation on track and encouraging industry to reformulate and reduce sugar levels in products. There is continued engagement with industry to support action and understand the challenges that are faced in order to make the necessary changes and we continue to review the balance between mandatory and voluntary incentives to reduce sugar in everyday food and drink.

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. I noted the reports about the shift; I wonder whether I can persuade her to shift the Government a little further. I endeavoured to persuade the previous Government that we should engage in further discussions in a round-table way with the food and drink industry to try to reduce the amount of processed sugar. I seek to persuade the Minister to convene a round-table meeting of those in the private sector interested in trying to effect reformulation in food and drink and to let us see something positive actually happening.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

We certainly want to reduce sugar intake, and I commend my noble friend for his campaigning on this issue. I know he will continue, rightly, to press me on this. We want to ensure that we learn from experts and will welcome further research in this area. We already have regular meetings with industry and monitor the progress being made. The ultimate prize is not just about looking at reducing sugar and replacing it with sweeteners but finding that our palates are encouraged to adapt to a rather less sweet taste, and that will be the best way forward.