Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve access to minimally-processed foods for (a) all consumers and (b) children and young people.

The Government’s Eatwell Guide already advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables, and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat, and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns. For example, the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme, which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.

A range of actions that have already been taken to create a healthier environment to help children reduce their consumption of processed foods that are high in energy, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, and to improve access to affordable minimally processed foods, include:

- the Healthy Start scheme, which supported over 361,000 people in April 2025;

- the Nursery Milk Scheme, which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers in England and Wales for a daily 1/3 pint portion of milk to children and babies; and

- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, which provides approximately 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.

In relation to foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, work on our commitments is progressing through:

- implementing the television and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink;

- consulting on plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old; and

- giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate.