Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the comments of Chief Executive NHS England, in response to the sugar tax announcement in the budget, that sadly soft drinks are now our children’s largest single source of diabetes-inducing teeth-rotting excess sugar.””
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The evidence behind the comments from Simon Stevens, Chief Executive NHS England, comes from the Public Health England report ‘Sugar reduction: the evidence for action’ published in October 2015.
The PHE report states that soft drinks are the largest single source of sugar for children and teenagers in England, and that consuming too much sugar can lead to weight gain, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and some cancers. It is also linked to tooth decay.
This is why at Budget 2016, the Chancellor announced a new levy aimed at the producers and importers of added sugar soft drinks. The levy is designed to encourage companies to reduce the amount of added sugar in soft drinks and move consumers towards healthier choices. The levy will from part of a wider comprehensive childhood obesity strategy which the government launch in the summer.
