Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 17 November (HL2579), in the light of their commitment to reducing obesity, why the partnership with supermarkets in relation to their provision of sugar-free or sugar-reduced products is voluntary and not mandatory.

The voluntary approach of working with industry is achieving real reductions in calories, including sugar. Examples include:

- the Co-operative Group taking out added sugar from its high juices, removing 1.5 billion kcals per year;

- Tesco removing two billion calories from its juices, following on from the one billion removed in 2012; and

- Sainsbury’s reducing sugar in its Own Brand chilled juices by 83.5 tonnes a year.

The eight supermarkets currently signed up to the calorie reduction pledge are:

- Aldi Stores;

- ASDA;

- the Co-operative Group;

- Marks and Spencer;

- Morrisons;

- Sainsbury’s;

- Tesco; and

- Waitrose.

Companies signed up to the calorie reduction pledge have committed to support and enable their customers to eat and drink fewer calories through a range of actions, including product/menu reformulation, reviewing portion sizes, education and information, and actions to shift the marketing mix towards lower calorie options. The emphasis of the pledge is on overall calorie reduction; however, cutting sugar forms an important part of that strategy.

Companies report each year on their activities to reduce calories, including sugar, and these returns are published on the Responsibility Deal website along with their Delivery Plans. An independent evaluation of the Responsibility Deal is under way and due to report early 2016.