Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2017 to Question 2048, what steps Public Health England has taken to encourage (a) all businesses and (b) businesses in the Food and Drink Federation to achieve the reductions in sugar set out in Childhood obesity: a plan for action.

The Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan published in August 2016 challenged industry to reduce overall sugar across the products contributing most to children’s sugar intakes by at least 20% by 2020, with a 5% reduction to be achieved in the first year by August 2017. Public Health England (PHE) published our first technical report ‘Sugar reduction: Achieving the 20%’ on 30 March 2017. The report set out guidelines for industry to deliver the 20% sugar reduction in nine categories of food by 2020. The report is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/604336/Sugar_reduction_achieving_the_20_.pdf

PHE is continuing its programme of engagement with businesses across all sectors of industry to achieve these guidelines, including members of the Food and Drink Federation and retailers with a significant focus on restaurants, takeaways and cafés. The first detailed progress report will be published in March 2018. PHE is now developing the metrics that will be used to monitor progress towards the 5% reduction that is to be achieved by August 2017.