Select committee: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 23
Seventh Report - Food security
Published 28 Jul 2023
Paragraph 90
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)
Better informing consumers about healthy, and unhealthy, food to help them to make the right choices is without doubt an important measure, and we welcome Government steps in this regard. Individuals should take responsibility for their food consumption and make healthier choices where this is possible. However, this alone is not sufficient to tackle the issue of unhealthy eating and obesity, as demonstrated by the fact that 14 previous Government health strategies in the past 30 years have emphasised self-responsibility yet rates of being overweight and obesity have continued to increase. The Government should set out details—including funding levels—for the next five years for a programme of informing and educating consumers about healthy choices and how these programmes will interact with other policies to tackle obesity and unhealthy eating.
From: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Seventh Report - Food security (HC 622), paragraph 90, 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".