Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) unprocessed and (b) minimally processed foods on public health.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Scientific risk assessment and United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

SACN has considered the evidence on the impact of processing on health in a position statement in 2023 and rapid evidence update in April 2025 which considered evidence published since the 2023 position statement. SACN has concluded that the observed associations between higher consumption of ultra processed foods and adverse health outcomes are concerning.

SACN recommended that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars and low in fibre. This is based on the nutrient content of many ultra processed foods and concerns raised in relation to health.

SACN’s recommendations align with existing policies for supporting healthier diets and advice to consumers. SACN will keep the topic of food processing and health under annual review and consider it again in 2026.

SACN has also previously advised on consumption of fruit and vegetables, supporting the WHO recommendations (2003), red and processed meat as part of its assessment on iron and health (2010), and on consumption of whole grain foods, as part of its recommendations on Carbohydrates and Health (2015). The UK’s national food model the Eatwell Guide, which is based on SACN’s recommendations, already advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to review the requirement for small businesses to file profits and losses with Companies House.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade is currently engaging with stakeholders on proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House, to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business. As part of this we are considering stakeholder views on the requirement for small and micro entities to file profit and loss accounts. We will set out next steps in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of minimally processed foods (a) for children and young people and (b) in general.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government’s Eatwell Guide advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns.  Examples include the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.

A range of actions that have already been taken to create a healthier environment to help children eat a healthy, balanced diet including:

- the Healthy Start scheme which supported over 355,000 people in August 2025;

- the Nursery Milk Scheme which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers (in England and Wales) for a daily one-third pint portion of milk to children and babies; and

- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme which provides around 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.

In relation to processed foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt and free sugars, work on manifesto commitments is progressing through:

- implementing the TV and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink;

- consulting on plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old; and

- giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate.

Earlier this year, the Government committed to reviewing the School Food Standards to reflect the most recent government dietary recommendations. In particular, this will reduce levels of sugar and increase fibre in school food.

In August 2025, voluntary industry guidelines for commercial baby food and drink were published by government. The guidelines challenge businesses to reduce the sugar and salt content and improve marketing and labelling of foods and drinks aimed at children aged up to 36 months.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to (a) abolish and (b) reform standing charges for (i) gas and (ii) electricity bills.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue. Ofgem has conducted a broad public consultation to understand the views of consumers on this issue, receiving over 5,000 responses on their 2024 discussion paper. Since then, Ofgem has been continuing work in two areas.

Firstly, Ofgem has been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with low or no standing charges. Ofgem took a further step towards this goal on 24 July, announcing proposals to require suppliers to offer their customers low or no standing charge tariffs from early 2026.

Secondly, Ofgem has been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this. Ofgem published its Cost Allocation and Recovery Review on 30 July.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure providers are held accountable for supporting displaced workers already in the UK.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stands ready to support anyone affected with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.

This service is co-ordinated nationally by the Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, Money Helper and the skills bodies in England.

These services are offered by equivalents in the devolved administrations. In Scotland this is delivered by PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and in Wales by ReACT. Redundancy support in Northern Ireland is devolved with separate funding and delivery arrangements.

The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:

• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.
• Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market).
• What benefits they may get and how to claim.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to introduce a central job-matching platform for displaced workers.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stands ready to support anyone affected with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.

This service is co-ordinated nationally by the Strategic Relationship Team (SRT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, Money Helper and the skills bodies in England.

These services are offered by equivalents in the devolved administrations. In Scotland this is delivered by PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and in Wales by ReACT. Redundancy support in Northern Ireland is devolved with separate funding and delivery arrangements.

The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:

• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.
• Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market).
• What benefits they may get and how to claim.