Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to (a) minimally-processed and (b) nutritious foods for (i) families and (ii) children and young people in food poverty.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and its commitment to raising the healthiest generation of children in history. The Department is working closely with the Child Poverty Taskforce to develop and deliver an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life. An important part of this will be alleviating the negative experience of living in poverty through supporting families and enhancing public services.

The Department is also working collaboratively across Government to deliver a resilient food system that promotes health and food security. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.

The Government’s Eatwell Guide 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 National Health Service 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.

Healthy Start aims to support those in greatest need. We recently announced in the 10-Year Health Plan that we will uplift the value of weekly payments by 10%, boosting the ability to buy healthy food for those families who need it most. From April 2026, pregnant women and children aged over one year old and under four years old will each receive £4.65 per week, up from £4.25, and children under one year old will receive £9.30 per week, up from £8.50. The funding for Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, milk, and infant formula. In August 2025, Healthy Start supported over 355,000 people.

In relation to processed foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt and free sugars, work on Government commitments is progressing through: implementing the TV and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food or 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.

Earlier this year, the Government committed to reviewing the School Food Standards to reflect the most recent government dietary recommendations, in particular this will reduce levels of sugar and increase fibre in school food.

In August 2025, voluntary industry guidelines for commercial baby food and drink were published by the Government. The guidelines challenge businesses to reduce the sugar and salt content and improve marketing and labelling of foods and drinks aimed at children aged up to 36 months old.