Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
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 financial implications for the dairy and yoghurt manufacturing industry of redesigning labels and packaging as a result of yoghurt and other dairy-based products being classified as high in fat, sugar, or salt under the revised Nutrient Profiling Model.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Heath Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
As part of this, we are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotions restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and will more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.
Applying the new NPM to our advertising and promotions policies will further incentivise businesses to reformulate their products, making it easier for consumers to make healthier food choices.
We have published guidance to industry on how to determine which food and drink products will be in scope of the advertising and promotions restrictions. Products are classified as ‘less healthy’ for the purpose of the restrictions if they achieve a score within the thresholds of the NPM and fall into one of the categories of food and drink products which are of most concern to childhood obesity, which are set out in the regulations.
We will publish a consultation this year to seek stakeholder views on applying the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions on less healthy food and drink products, including an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes. We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future that applying the new NPM to these policies is expected to reduce a further 170,000 cases of childhood obesity.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
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 financial implications for the dairy and yoghurt manufacturing industry of reformulating products if the revised Nutrient Profiling Model results in yoghurt and other dairy-based products being classified as high in fat, sugar, or salt.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Heath Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
As part of this, we are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotions restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and will more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.
Applying the new NPM to our advertising and promotions policies will further incentivise businesses to reformulate their products, making it easier for consumers to make healthier food choices.
We have published guidance to industry on how to determine which food and drink products will be in scope of the advertising and promotions restrictions. Products are classified as ‘less healthy’ for the purpose of the restrictions if they achieve a score within the thresholds of the NPM and fall into one of the categories of food and drink products which are of most concern to childhood obesity, which are set out in the regulations.
We will publish a consultation this year to seek stakeholder views on applying the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions on less healthy food and drink products, including an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes. We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future that applying the new NPM to these policies is expected to reduce a further 170,000 cases of childhood obesity.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with Dairy UK and other trade bodies on the potential impact of the revised Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) for the dairy supply chain.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
As part of this, we are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotion restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.
The Government has met with a range of stakeholders over the past year to listen to their concerns, and officials met with Dairy UK in August 2025.
The Government remains committed to engaging relevant stakeholders and we will consult this year on the application of an updated NPM’s to the advertising and promotion restrictions to ensure they can feed in their views.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on jobs and employment on changes in regulation in the dairy sector, including through the proposed revisions to the Nutrient Profiling Model, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy proposed inclusion of dairy products, the increase to employer’s National Insurance contributions, and packaging taxes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) and National Insurance contributions are the responsibility of HM Treasury and packaging taxes fall under the remit of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
The Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) is under the remit of the Department of Health and Social Care. We are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotion restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The NPM 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity. An impact assessment will be published alongside a consultation later this year.
It was announced at Budget 2025 that milk based and milk substitute drinks, for instance soya, almond, and/or oat, would be included in the scope of the SDIL from 1 January 2028. These reforms are not expected to have any significant macroeconomic impacts, including on employment, on the basis that the levy is limited to soft drinks, and an estimated 11% of United Kingdom soft drink sales will be affected. A full assessment of the impacts of these changes is included within the Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – Summary of Responses document. This is available at the following link:
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the bill, containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts. The Government protected the smallest hospitality businesses from recent changes to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500.
The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs published the updated impact assessment of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme in October 2024, which evaluated the overall effects on packaging producers, without disaggregating by sector.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of business rates relief and business rates revaluation on high street businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to reduce youth unemployment in the context of employment levels in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the importance of the Hospitality sector in providing employment for young people. The Budget made more than £1.5bn available over the next three years for investment in employment and skills support. This funds £820m for the Youth Guarantee and provides £725m for the Growth and Skills Levy, ensuring young people have the support they need to earn or learn.
We are supporting more than 50,000 young people into apprenticeships in England by fully funding apprenticeship training costs for all eligible 16-24-year-olds, removing the need for non-levy paying employers to co-fund these learners. We are also expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors such as hospitality and retail, where young people are traditionally recruited. All these measures will be available to assist the hospitality sector in employing young people.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the survival of local museums in a) England and b) Worcestershire.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government supports museums nationwide through direct funding of National museums, funding of the Arts Council, and the administration of tax schemes like the Museums VAT Refund Scheme, and the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief. In October the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced 75 recipients of a new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund to keep our local museums open and serving communities, protecting opening hours and jobs and telling our national story at a local level. Earlier this year, DCMS also announced a further £25 million this year to support museums across England with urgent infrastructure through the Museum Estate and Development Fund. Together, these two interventions double the c. £44 million that Arts Council England (ACE) is already investing annually into core support for local museums.
Two museums in Worcestershire, the Museum of Royal Worcester, and Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, were awarded £228,343 and £239,922 respectively from the Museum Renewal Fund, and ACE have invested more than £3m in six museums across Worcestershire since 2021.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to continue the Museum Renewal Fund past March 2026; and whether that fund remains open for new applications.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Museum Renewal Fund, announced in February, closed to applicants in May 2025. 75 museum groups were awarded a total of £20 million in October, to keep our local museums open and serving communities, protecting opening hours and jobs and telling our national story at a local level. The department keeps its funding and support for different sectors under regular review, and decisions pertaining to future budgetary allocations will be taken in the usual manner, through departmental business planning.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to (a) extend the consultation period and (b) hold further discussions with (i) specialist and (ii) independent providers on the proposed schools white paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families.
To ensure lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our reforms, we have launched a national conversation on SEND with children, young people and their families, experts, charities and other sector organisations through our SEND Ministerial development group, regional and online engagement sessions, and ministerial roundtables. Further information is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-reform-national-conversation/.
The experiences shared during these engagement opportunities will be vital in ensuring that our proposals effectively deliver meaningful reforms for families. We will continue engagement as part of a formal consultation following the White Paper publication, and the responses received will be carefully considered in shaping the reforms.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an overall timeline for the phase out of animal experimentation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to reducing the use of animals in scientific research, and on 11th November published a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy).
It is not yet possible to replace all animal research due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led, in lock step with partners, so we will move as quickly as possible to reduce their use in line with scientific discovery of alternatives.