Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward regulations on the composition of (a) toddler and (b) other so-called growing up formula milks.

The Government has not made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation on the composition of ‘toddler’ or ‘growing up’ milks. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) 2023 report, called Feeding young children aged 1 to 5 years, reported findings from national dietary surveys indicating that free sugars intakes for children aged 18 to 60 months old were above the current recommendations. Furthermore, formula milks, mainly follow-on formula and ‘toddler’ and ‘growing up’ milks, were consumed by 36% of children aged one to one and a half years old, and contributed 50% of free sugars intakes in consumers.

Current recommendations from the SACN are that these products are not required by children aged one to five years old and that milk or water, in addition to breast milk, should constitute the majority of drinks given to children aged one to five years old. National Health Service advice is that there is no evidence to suggest that ‘toddler’ or ‘growing up’ milks provide extra nutritional benefits for young children.

We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, which includes considering what action is needed to improve the diets and associated health outcomes for children.