Hitting the sweet spot? Are public health initiatives and the sugar tax working?
The House of Lords Committee on Food, Poverty, Health and the Environment will this week take evidence from charities working to promote better public health, as well as the UK's food and drinks manufacturing trade body, as it explores whether information campaigns and policies to promote reformulation are working to deliver healthier eating.
The evidence sessions will start at 10:40am on Tuesday 11 February in Committee Room 2A of the House of Lords. The Committee will hear evidence from:
10:40am
- Shirley Cramer, Royal Society for Public Health
- Dr Louise Marshall, Senior Public Health Fellow, Health Foundation
- Professor Susan Jebb, Professor of diet and population health, University of Oxford
- Susan Lloyd, Executive Lead for Policy at the Faculty of Public Health
11:40am
- Mhairi Brown, Policy and Public Affairs Coordinator, Action on Salt
- Dr Hilda Mulrooney, Associate Professor in Nutrition, Obesity Group of the British Dietetic Association
- Kate Halliwell, Head of Diet and Health Policy, Food and Drink Federation
The first session will cover the effectiveness of the sugar drinks industry levy and salt reduction targets, the impact of public health behaviour change campaigns and whether they are effective in reaching all parts of society, and what public levers can be used to promote healthy eating as opposed to simply avoiding unhealthy foods.
In the second session the Committee will ask the witnesses what aspects of the food environment have the greatest impact on consumers making healthy choices, how effective current Government obesity action is, and what balance should be struck between voluntary targets or enforced reductions in salt, sugar and calories.
