Proposals in the cross-party Committee’s new report aimed to “fix” a food environment that is said to be pushing consumers towards high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) products, with the report highlighting that these were “typically cheaper than nutritious foods”.

The Committee urged Ministers to bring in mandatory reporting and targets for supermarkets, backed up with penalties, on the amount of “healthy” food they sell, and new planning policies to stop fast food outlets opening close to schools.  

It said brand and range advertising “must be brought within scope” of the existing ban, with Government to review the success of these restrictions in 2031. It also called for new regulation to ban all outdoor advertising of HFSS foods, to be implemented by July 2027.

The Committee also urged Government to introduce mandatory front-of-pack labelling by January 2028, calling the traffic light system “imperfect” but familiar to customers. It called for a healthy sales reporting policy to be launched as soon as possible, with targets for major supermarkets set within the next 12 months.

Health and Social Care Committee chair Layla Moran MP said: “When we say the ‘food environment’, we mean the constant bombardment of promotions and adverts we see and hear in our daily lives – on our screens, on children’s journeys home from school, as we set foot in shops and queue for the checkout.

“The central message of this report is that we need to tackle England’s escalating obesity crisis through prevention. That means bearing down on environmental factors that push people to eat unhealthily – that coerce struggling families to buy their children products that fill them up without nourishing them. That is why the Government’s food policy needs an overhaul. Perversely, the worst options are the cheapest while the healthiest are harder to access.

“Attitudes of obesity being purely down to the individual failings are outdated and deny the reality of those living with obesity and excess weight in this country needs robust challenge. 

“We ask this Government to be bold, not to fudge and delay food restrictions. While we acknowledge the costs of policy changes to the food industry, these are marginal compared to the huge costs of inaction on obesity to society, the economy and the health service. The real cost is measured in how many people suffer preventable diseases linked to being overweight or malnourished. The Government needs to dig deep and prioritise the long-term health of generations to come.”

Food manufacturers “should not be excluded from discussions”

Kate Halliwell, chief scientific officer at The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), commented: “Food and drink manufacturers remain committed to continuing to work with Government to tackle obesity and poor diets. It’s good that the Committee acknowledged the progress manufacturers are making to reduce salt, sugar and calories in everyday food, and to increase fibre. We appreciate their support too for a scheme to help smaller businesses change recipes to make products healthier. However, we agree that more still needs to be done and so we support the Committee’s call for Government to bring forward plans to introduce mandatory reporting of healthier food sales.

“However, we don’t agree that food and drink manufacturers should be excluded from discussions on health policy. Government needs advice from the people who make food to understand if new policies are workable in practice. This expertise doesn’t exist in Government departments. The proposed 2018 NPM is a case in point – industry wasn’t consulted when the model was redesigned and we now have serious concerns that it will be unworkable.

“On the advertising and promotion restrictions, these have only just come into force. Our clear view is that Government needs to assess whether the regulation is having an impact and how before deciding to impose further changes.”

George McLellan, disputes partner with law firm Sharpe Pritchard, commented: “UK public health officials and regulators have been actively imposing new and increasingly onerous rules on food businesses for decades now. Their promise is always that their latest interventions will reduce obesity and save the NHS money, and yet obesity rates have not fallen, and the NHS hasn’t saved a penny.

“All these interventions have done in practice is to increase costs for businesses and inflate grocery prices for consumers. Imposing even more red tape on businesses will not make a positive difference to public health.”

The Health and Social Care Committee said a second report focusing on weight treatment and medication will be published later this year.