Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce measures to reduce the sugar content of food modelled on those introduced to replace the salt content of food between 2003 and 2011.

Under the Government’s voluntary partnership with industry the focus is on overall calorie reduction, of which sugar can form a part. This has resulted in real progress in reducing calories.

The Scientific Advisory Committee Report on Nutrition has recently published their draft recommendations on Carbohydrates. The final report, together with recommendations from Public Health England on sugar in the diet is due next spring. This will inform the Government’s future thinking on sugar.