Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the food industry meeting salt reduction targets; and the potential impact of this on a) the number of people with coronary heart disease, b) the number of people having strokes, and c) the NHS budget.

If salt reduction policies were implemented, we would consider the health benefits of these as part of the policy development cycle. It is recognised that if the food industry lowered the salt content of commonly consumed foods, it would help to support reducing the population’s salt intake.