The Committee is holding an inquiry into food and weight management, including treatments for obesity. In 2022, 64% of adults in England were either overweight or living with obesity. In its 10-year health plan, the Government pledged to “launch a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic”. The Committee’s inquiry will investigate what public health interventions … Show more
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Report – Food and Weight Management: Fixing the food en… | HC 223 | 15 Jul 2026 | 36 | Pending |
We were unconvinced by the evidence we received from the supermarkets regarding their concerns about the updated nutrient profiling model. The NPM underpins all the government’s regulatory action to prevent obesity, yet the version of the model being used is now nearly 22 years old. Though a new model was … Read more
The 2018 nutrient profiling model should be implemented as soon as possible, and certainly no later than by the end of 2027. The government will hear a lot of representations against this, but should hold firm. While we are aware of the debate around free sugars, we do not believe … Read more
The government should also commit to regularly reviewing and updating the nutrient profile model so that we do not go another 22 years, or more, between updates. Reviewing and implementing an updated nutrient profiling model on a 10-year cycle would strike a sensible balance between reflecting evolving scientific advice and … Read more
Healthy sales reporting and targets are the government’s flagship policy for addressing the food environment in the 10 Year Health Plan, with much resting on their implementation and success. It has been over a year since the 10 Year Health Plan was published and no visible progress has been made … Read more
Mandatory healthy sales reporting should be launched as soon as possible, with targets set for supermarkets within the next 12 months and for the wider food industry by the end of the Parliament. (Recommendation, Paragraph 24)
If the government is really committed to this policy and in future decides to set targets as a result, those targets are meaningless unless accompanied by a strict enforcement regime for ensuring companies meet targets. This could be overseen by the Food Standards Agency, with, for example, penalties on a … Read more
Price is a key driver in consumer behaviour. It is welcome that action has been taken to reduce the number of volume-price promotions of HFSS foods. However, with healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables still generally being more expensive than HFSS foods, and the proportion of disposable income needed … Read more
As part of plans for large businesses to report on healthy sales and progress towards healthy sales targets, the government should require those businesses to report on the price promotions it offers, specifically the percentage of such promotions on healthier foods like fruits and vegetables. (Recommendation, Paragraph 37) Read more
Healthy Start is a lifeline to many families who might otherwise struggle to find the budget for healthier foods for their children. It is especially impactful during a time of increasing food prices, with healthier foods often being more expensive than unhealthy foods. However, the scheme as it is currently … Read more
The Healthy Start programme should be updated in the following ways: a. the value of vouchers should be updated to reflect the level of food inflation and there should be an annual review of value to ensure its real terms value is maintained; b. technical barriers must be resolved within … Read more
The government should also launch a public awareness campaign within the next three months to drive improved uptake of the Healthy Start scheme, modelled on the approach taken in Scotland. The government must also commit to publish annual data on uptake of the Healthy Start scheme, with as granular geographical … Read more
Local projects to support access to healthier foods are doing fantastic work in their communities and seeing real results, using local knowledge and building strong community relationships to drive change. Community projects need to be a core part of any work to address the challenges in the food system and … Read more
We therefore repeat the recommendation previously made by Sir Henry Dimbleby that the government should establish a “Community Eatwell” programme to provide healthy eating support to families and individuals on low incomes experiencing food-related ill health. The government should also work with industry to secure match-funding for this programme. (Recommendation, … Read more
Clear and consistent labelling supports customers to make more informed choices about the food they are buying. Existing traffic light labelling is not mandatory, and it is inconsistently applied: this needs to change. (Conclusion, Paragraph 67)
The government should introduce mandatory front-of-pack labelling by January 2028. While we acknowledge that the traffic light approach is not perfect, we nevertheless recommend using the pre-existing label as its template as this is familiar to consumers and widely used by manufacturers in the market, so should cause the least … Read more
In addition, the government should take steps to explore how to ensure the effectiveness of front-of-pack labelling in the long term, including: a. how to make front-of pack information clear for consumers and ensure it avoids contradictory health and nutrition messaging; b. learning from labelling used in other countries, such … Read more
We acknowledge the efforts that manufacturers have gone to in reformulating products to remove sugar, salt and fat and increase fibre, and the challenges that can come from this for smaller businesses. Taxation has been shown to drive producer behaviour through the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), and we believe … Read more
To drive further reformulation, we recommend that the government: a. continues to explore how the SDIL can be expanded and sets out a timetable for reducing the threshold to its originally intended 4g per 100ml; b. develops an equivalent of the Scottish Reformulation for Health Programme to roll out to … Read more
While some local authorities have already been using the planning system to improve their local food environment, the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework should encourage more local authorities to refuse applications for hot food takeaways and fast-food outlets where further provision would not benefit local population health. However, … Read more
Working with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and directors of public health, we call on the government to: a. develop clearer definitions for the terms “hot food takeaway”, “fast- food outlet” and “reasonable walking distance” and develop guidance and provide practical support for local authorities to identify areas … Read more
The evidence is clear: advertising impacts on the consumption of HFSS foods. The government has already accepted this to some degree given the action already taken to restrict exposure to HFSS advertising, but it must be bolder. Its current approach leaves the majority of advertising untouched and undermines the intention … Read more
Advertising methods are changing quickly, with the rising prominence of social media advertising, digital advertising, sport sponsorship, online gaming and direct marketing through app notification. Existing regulations do not adequately address these forms of advertising. Further delay to strengthening restrictions must be avoided. Given it took nearly five years from … Read more
On a local level, some local authorities are working hard to improve their own food environment through bans to outdoor advertising, but they are severely limited due to only being able to target council-owned assets. To ensure a consistent approach, to address the fact that areas of higher deprivation have … Read more
A holistic, consistent and watertight approach to restricting the exposure of children to all HFSS advertising needs to be developed. It should include: 56 a. bringing brand and range advertising into the scope of existing regulations as soon as possible and certainly not waiting for the five- year implementation period … Read more
Existing regulation could be better used to play a more active role in building healthier retail environments. While we are encouraged that changing shop layouts is one of the government’s suggested ways of achieving healthier sales, given there will likely be some time before the healthy sales targets are set, … Read more
It is concerning that HFSS foods continue to feature prominently on pages on retailer websites that are not covered by existing regulations, particularly special offers pages. We know that price is a driver of shopping habits and so believe that special offers pages should be included as an example of … Read more
The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 should be updated no later than January 2027 to: a. include a requirement to place fruits and vegetables in prominent instore locations like checkouts and store entrances; and b. extend the definition of a prominent location on a website to include ‘special … Read more
Policies to support a reduction in the consumption of HFSS foods stand no chance of success if they are not strongly enforced. Businesses need to be clear that there will be consequence for failing to meet their legal requirements to create healthier environments in their stores. (Conclusion, Paragraph 133) 57 Read more
We are concerned by the lack of enforcement of policies and recommend the government review the extent to which its policies are being enforced and, in its response to us, set out detail on resources available for enforcement. (Recommendation, Paragraph 134) Read more
The government needs to build and fund a more robust enforcement regime for existing and upcoming regulation, which should include: a. improved, ring-fenced funding and an improved training offer for local authority trading standards and environmental health teams to improve their capacity to address all enforcement issues; and b. stronger … Read more
The Food Standards Agency’s role should be expanded to cover the healthiness of food, as well as food safety. It should report to Parliament on progress towards healthier food production and on meeting targets for healthy food sales. This expanded role should be accompanied by additional funding and staff. (Recommendation, … Read more
The current regulatory framework does not create a level playing field across all settings where food is purchased, largely ignores the out-of-home sector, has a blind spot around delivery apps and is littered with loopholes that ultimately undermine the intended health improvement outcomes from these policies. We are concerned by … Read more
A more strategic and holistic view of food policy that seeks to improve the healthiness of food and the food environment is needed. The government should either extend the scope of existing regulation or create new regulation to ensure that the prominence and promotion of HFSS foods is reduced across … Read more
Throughout our inquiry we have seen examples where time and time again policy that has been designed to protect and improve children’s health and the health of the population is delayed or diluted in the face of threats from the food industry about the impact on food prices, jobs or … Read more
We agree with the House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee that the government should exclude food businesses that derive more than a certain proportion of sales from less healthy products from any discussions on the formation of policy on food, diet and obesity prevention. This should also apply … Read more
While we acknowledge the costs of policy changes to the food industry, these are marginal when compared to the huge costs of inaction on obesity to society, the economy and the health service. In the event that policy relating to the healthiness of food is delayed or substantially changed, Parliament … Read more
| Date | Witnesses | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 2026 | Dr Clare Hambling · NHS England, Natasha Burgon · Department of Health and Social Care, Prof Aidan Fowler · NHS England, Sharon Hodgeson MP · Department for Health and Social Care | View ↗ |
| 19 May 2026 | Colette Marshall · Diabetes UK, Dimitri Pournaras · British Obesity and Metabolic Specialist Society (BOMSS), Dr Neil O'Brien · North East and North Cumbria ICB, Professor Roy Taylor · DiRECT Study | View ↗ |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Andy Morling · Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Claire Nevinson · Boots UK, Dr Kieran Seyan · Pharmacy2U, Dr Simon Doyle · Coalition of Responsible Digital Health, John Spoors · National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Neha Ramaiya · General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) | View ↗ |
| 25 Feb 2026 | Dr Claudia Coelho · The Association for the Study of Obesity, Dr Emily Pegg · Lilly UK, Dr Kath McCullough · Royal College of Physicians, Dr Munro Stewart · Royal College of General Practitioners, Professor Susan Jebb · Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford | View ↗ |
| 28 Jan 2026 | Beth Fowler · Asda, Liz Fox · aldi, Nilani Sritharan · Sainsbury’s, Oonagh Turnbull · Tesco | View ↗ |
| 3 Dec 2025 | Jim Cathcart · UKHospitality, Kate Halliwell · Food and Drink Federation | View ↗ |
| 5 Nov 2025 | Dr Kawther Hashem · Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University London, Katharine Jenner · Obesity Health Alliance, Lauren Bowes Byatt · Nesta, Michael Baber · Health Action Research Group, Nika Pajda · Bite Back, Professor Christina Vogel · Centre for Food Policy, City St George's, University of London, Professor Chris van Tulleken · University College London | View ↗ |
| 15 Oct 2025 | Alice · Bite Back, Alice Wiseman · Association of Directors of Public Health, Anna Taylor · Food Foundation, Corin Bell · Alexandra Rose Charity, Evette · Food Foundation, Helen Gollins · Greater Manchester Public Health Network, Jayda · Bite Back | View ↗ |
| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Alice · Youth activist | Bite Back | 1 |
| Alice Wiseman · Vice President | Association of Directors of Public Health | 1 |
| Andy Morling · Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement & Head of… | Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) | 1 |
| Anna Taylor · Chief Executive | Food Foundation | 1 |
| Beth Fowler · Senior Manager Healthy and Sustainable Choice | Asda | 1 |
| Claire Nevinson · Superintendent Pharmacist | Boots UK | 1 |
| Colette Marshall · Chief Executive | Diabetes UK | 1 |
| Corin Bell · Chief Executive Officer | Alexandra Rose Charity | 1 |
| Dimitri Pournaras · Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric S… | British Obesity and Metabolic Specialist Society (BOMSS) | 1 |
| Dr Clare Hambling · National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesi… | NHS England | 1 |
| Dr Claudia Coelho · Adult Centres for Obesity Management Lead | The Association for the Study of Obesity | 1 |
| Dr Emily Pegg · Associate Vice President (Medical) | Lilly UK | 1 |
| Dr Kath McCullough · Special Adviser on Obesity | Royal College of Physicians | 1 |
| Dr Kawther Hashem · Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition | Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University London | 1 |
| Dr Kieran Seyan · Chief Medical Officer | Pharmacy2U | 1 |
| Dr Munro Stewart · Vice Chair (Policy) | Royal College of General Practitioners | 1 |
| Dr Neil O'Brien · Chief Medical Officer | North East and North Cumbria ICB | 1 |
| Dr Simon Doyle · Public Policy and Partnerships Lead at Eucalyptus… | Coalition of Responsible Digital Health | 1 |
| Evette · Food Ambassador | Food Foundation | 1 |
| Helen Gollins · Chair | Greater Manchester Public Health Network | 1 |
| Jayda · Youth activist | Bite Back | 1 |
| Jim Cathcart · Policy Director | UKHospitality | 1 |
| John Spoors · Programme Director for Commercial, Managed Access… | National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) | 1 |
| Kate Halliwell · Chief Scientific Officer | Food and Drink Federation | 1 |
| Katharine Jenner · Executive Director | Obesity Health Alliance | 1 |
| Lauren Bowes Byatt · Deputy Director (healthy life mission) | Nesta | 1 |
| Liz Fox · National Sustainability Director | aldi | 1 |
| Michael Baber · Director | Health Action Research Group | 1 |
| Natasha Burgon · Director of Health Improvement | Department of Health and Social Care | 1 |
| Neha Ramaiya · Lead Clinical Advisor | General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) | 1 |
| Nika Pajda · Head of Policy and Research | Bite Back | 1 |
| Nilani Sritharan · Head of Healthy and Sustainable Diets | Sainsbury’s | 1 |
| Oonagh Turnbull · Head of Health and Sustainable Diets Campaigns | Tesco | 1 |
| Prof Aidan Fowler · National Director of Patient Safety and Deputy Na… | NHS England | 1 |
| Professor Chris van Tulleken · Professor of Infection and Global Health | University College London | 1 |
| Professor Christina Vogel · Director | Centre for Food Policy, City St George's, University of London | 1 |
| Professor Roy Taylor · Principal Investigator | DiRECT Study | 1 |
| Professor Susan Jebb · Professor of Diet and Population Health | Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford | 1 |
| Sharon Hodgeson MP · Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State | Department for Health and Social Care | 1 |
| Date | Direction | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Apr 2026 | — | Correspondence from the MHRA- Follow up from 25 March session |
| 25 Mar 2026 | — | Correspondence from Sainsbury’s- Follow up from 28 Jan session |
| 11 Mar 2026 | — | Correspondence form Asda- Follow up on 28 Jan session |
| 11 Mar 2026 | — | Correspondence from Tesco- Follow up on 28 Jan session |
| 11 Mar 2026 | — | Correspondence from Aldi- Follow up on 28 Jan session |
| 25 Feb 2026 | — | Correspondence from the Food and Drink Federation- follow up from 3 December se… |
| 4 Feb 2026 | — | Correspondence from the Minister of State for Health - UK Nutrient Profiling Mo… |
| 4 Feb 2026 | — | Correspondence from Domino's - Right to Reply |
| 28 Jan 2026 | — | Correspondence from Advertising Standards Authority- Update on weight loss pres… |
| 21 Jan 2026 | — | Correspondence from UK Hospitality- Follow up from 3 Dec session |
| 17 Dec 2025 | — | Correspondence from the Advertising Standards Authority- Tackling misleading he… |
| 26 Nov 2025 | — | Correspondence from KFC re Right to reply following 15 Oct session |
| 19 Nov 2025 | — | Correspondence from Asda re Food and Weight Management Inquiry |
| 12 Nov 2025 | — | Correspondence from Global re right to reply following 8 October evidence sessi… |
| 15 Oct 2025 | — | Correspondence from Minister Dalton re Food and drink advertising regulations |