Select committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 21
Seventh Report - Food security
Published 28 Jul 2023
Paragraph 84
Addressed to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Food Security All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We are not convinced that the delay to banning certain volume price promotions for HFSS food will save consumers money, given the Government’s own analysis on this matter. Of less doubt is that it will make the fight against unhealthy eating and obesity even harder. The Government Response should forecast rates of being overweight and being obese had the HFSS food volume price promotions been introduced in October 2022 compared to their planned introduction of October 2025. The regulations restricting discounts on HFSS food should be broadened to exclude all price promotions of HFSS food, to ban meal deals where any element of a meal deal has to be cooked prior to eating, and to extend the regulations’ coverage to all food shops.
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Food security (HC 622), paragraph 84, 28 July 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 November 2023 (deadline 28 September 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it "takes all aspects of food security very seriously" but, across the report's recommendations, mostly points to existing measures and gives few new commitments, with some proposals declined or not planned.
- On an annual UK Food Security Report, it says "We do not have plans to make the UKFSR an annual publication" and that the next report will be published by December 2024.
- On the Cabinet Office review of food policy structures, it "agrees with the need for policy coherence and for strong leadership", but points to existing cross-Whitehall structures rather than committing to a review.
- On free school meals, it says it does "not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions" but "will continue to keep eligibility under review"; on a sugar and salt tax, it does not consider "now is the right time".
- On the Shropshire labour review, it is "currently considering the recommendations and intend[s] to publish a response before the end of the year".