Sugar tax debated in Parliament
A sugar tax petition by Jamie Oliver and Sustain was debated at Parliament on 30 November, led by MPs Helen Jones and Dr Sarah Wollaston, with MPs asking the Government to be “bold and brave” in regards to taking action towards counteracting childhood obesity.
The Commissions Committee had scheduled the debate to coincide with the 30th of November publication of the report, Childhood obesity – brave and bold action, by the Government’s Health Committee. The report supports the introduction of a 20% levy on high sugar soft drinks.
Helen Jones began the proceedings by stating that the sugar tax petition had been prompted by a “real concern over the rising levels of obesity, particularly among children”. She then cited dental decay as “the biggest reason for childhood hospitalization”.
The Labour MP stated that there had been little heard of the Government’s current programmes to tackle the issue of obesity, and that measures from the food and drink industry to voluntarily reduce sugar in their products “isn’t working”.
The clear message from Helen Jones was that the introduction of a 10-20% tax on high sugar drinks was a vital part of a “coordinated national strategy to ensure people are healthier in the future than they are now”.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Health Committee, led the second half of the debate. She agreed with Helen Jones that “no single measure” is the answer for tackling childhood obesity and tooth decay, and supported Helen Jones in saying that a 20% tax on sugary soft drinks is “an important part of the overall strategy” to lower sugar consumption in children.
As well as the introduction of a sugar tax, the Health Committee looked at super market promotions on sugary drinks, product labelling, information and education, school food standards, and the role of local authorities in order to see how the intake of sugar could be reduced.
When faced with the argument that education is the most important factor in lowering sugar consumption levels, Conservative MP Dr Wollaston countered that “delivering education alone doesn’t provide the solutions you think it would,” but she continued to say that this argument “is part of the overall strategy”.
Stating that it is “woeful that we are not doing more to tackle dental decay”, Dr Wollaston suggested that the public would be more likely to support a tax on sugar if the proceeds of such a tax were used to help children in the most deprived areas of society, and where obesity and dental decay are most prolific.
The MP also stated that there was a “compelling case” for the introduction of teaspoon icons on packaging to indicate the number of teaspoons of sugar present in food and drink.
Dr Wollaston closed the debate by noting that, by introducing a sugar tax amongst other ways of increasing awareness of sugar levels in food and drinks, “We can do extraordinary good for our children”.
“I hope the Government will be bold and brave, and recognise the importance of the health of our children”.
