Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with representatives of the food and drink industry on the impact of their products on public health.

The Department engages with the food and drink industry through policies that are aimed at encouraging them to make their products, or overall product portfolios, healthier, by reducing levels of sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt, reducing portion size, and shifting sales to healthier products. This includes legislation to restrict junk food advertising on television and online, and the locations in supermarkets in which foods and drinks that are high in saturated fat, sugar, or salt can be promoted. In addition, engagement occurs through the voluntary reformulation programme that requires businesses to reduce levels of sugar, calories, and salt in everyday food and drink. The Department will also engage with relevant stakeholders, such as the food industry, in taking forward the ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16-years old.

The Department is currently considering what further engagement may be required with the food and drink industry.