The Department of Health and Social Care is the sponsoring department of the Food Standards Agency.

Based on the information currently available to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Trametes versicolor and Cordyceps militaris have not been consumed to a significant degree as food in the UK or EU before 15 May 1997. They are therefore likely to be considered novel foods, which must be authorised before they are placed on the market in Great Britain.

If any Food Business Operator (FBO) would like the FSA to make formal determinations on the novel food status of these two mushroom species, they can submit consultation requests (under Article 4 of assimilated Regulation 2015/2283), including the evidence required on history of consumption.

When an FBO submits an application for the authorisation of a novel food, the safety of the food is considered as part of the risk assessment stage of the process.

Water companies use established practises and methodologies to monitor water and wastewater use by their customers. This alongside various factors, such as local authority planning, helps inform the water companies’ long-term plans to secure water and wastewater services.

South Staffs Water's metering programme forms part of its wider demand management activities. Ofwat's PR24 framework sets expectations for demand reduction and monitors delivery against company commitments through its regulatory performance framework.

Current evidence suggests existing data centres in England account for just 0.2% of non-household demand. Defra is working across government and with the Environment Agency to better understand the sectors growth and reduce its impact, including by supporting rollout of smart meters in the non-household market.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 10 September in response to Question 26962.

I refer the Hon Member to the documentation published at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-the-sale-of-high-caffeine-energy-drinks-to-children

The final Impact Assessment will be published on the GOV.UK website in due course.

This Government is supporting access to nutritious food and healthier diets through our Good Food Cycle, while respecting individual dietary choices.

The NHS Eatwell Guide includes dietary recommendations for a healthy diet. This recognises that plant-based and animal-based products can form part of a healthy, balanced diet. Adherence to the guide has been shown to improve both health and environmental outcomes.

The Department of Health and Social Care, working in close collaboration with colleagues at the Home Office, are in the early stages of assessing the impact of food delivery services on levels of alcohol consumption and any resultant impact on public health, reflecting the importance of ensuring that the licensing regime remains robust and effective.

A roundtable was convened by both Minister Jones, Minister for Policing and Crime, and Minister Hodgson, Minister for Public Health and Prevention on 15 June, to explore the impact of rapid alcohol deliveries on consumption, the potential impact on harms, and potential solutions. We are also commissioning research to bridge evidence gaps.

The delivery of alcohol is regulated under the Licensing Act 2003, responsibility for which rests with the Home Office. This Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services.

A consumer’s energy supplier can already access their gas and electricity consumption data for regulated purposes such as billing. Consumers have a choice about the granularity of data that is provided to their supplier.

Smart meters automatically send household energy consumption data to energy suppliers via the smart metering communications network, removing the need for manual meter reading. This supports easier switching between suppliers.

A consumer’s energy supplier can already access their gas and electricity consumption data for regulated purposes such as billing. Consumers have a choice about the granularity of data that is provided to their supplier.

Smart meters automatically send household energy consumption data to energy suppliers via the smart metering communications network, removing the need for manual meter reading. This supports easier switching between suppliers.

The Department has not made an assessment of the impact of alcohol delivery services on consumption of alcohol or public health.

The delivery of alcohol is regulated under the Licensing Act 2003, responsibility for which rests with the Home Office. The Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services. I recently convened a roundtable with Minister Jones, the Minister for Policing and Crime, to explore this issue further and discuss potential solutions.

The Government provides households with a range of guidance and support to help reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency, including grant eligibility checkers and the ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Home’ service on GOV.UK offering tailored advice on home retrofit. We also launched several consumer energy campaigns over the winter. Adverts ran across radio, out-of-home advertising, online video, community media, display, social media, search, and paid media partnerships, promoting heat pumps, EVs and energy-saving tips.

Through the Warm Homes Plan, we are investing significantly in home upgrades and have committed to establishing the Warm Homes Agency to simplify and streamline the consumer journey further, providing consumers with a single, trusted source of advice and support on different measures, funding eligibility, trusted installers, and other options available to households.

Recent analysis at global level, including by the International Energy Agency, has highlighted the extensive potential for AI applications in energy to cut costs and lower consumer bills.

Government will publish an AI Strategy for Energy in Autumn this year, which will set out the actions it is taking to apply AI to the Clean Energy Superpower mission. The AI for Clean Energy Champion is also preparing a review of AI deployment in electricity networks, for publication in the summer.

The proportion of UK food consumption that is domestically produced is shown in the below table, for the latest available years. This information is published annually in Defra’s Agriculture in the UK report.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) came into law on 5 April 2018, having been announced in 2016. Between 2015 and 2024 sugar levels in drinks in scope of the levy reduced by 47%, and while no formal assessment of the impact on children has been undertaken, the scale of reduction will have an impact on the sugar intake of children.

Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), an ongoing Government survey of food consumption, nutrient intake, and nutrient status in the United Kingdom, showed a fall in sugar intakes between 2014 to 2019, in older children and adolescents. This appears to be partly driven by soft drinks contributing less to sugar intakes, likely as a result of the changes made to drinks in scope of the SDIL.

The latest results for 2019 to 2023 show that sugar intakes in children remain approximately double the maximum recommendation and children aged 11 to 18 years old are the highest consumers of sugar sweetened soft drinks. Diets high in sugar increase the risk of dental caries as well as weight gain, which can ultimately result in living with overweight and obesity and related adverse health outcomes. The NDNS will continue to monitor sugar intakes following reformulation of drinks in scope of the SDIL.

Academic modelling indicates that reductions in sugar from drinks subject to the SDIL may have prevented 5,000 cases of obesity in girls aged ten to 11 years old, with greater impact on those attending schools in the most deprived areas. Modelling data also suggests that the changes resulting from the SDIL may have reduced hospital admissions for dental caries related tooth extractions in those aged zero to nine years old and for asthma related issues in those aged five to 18 years old.

Following formal consultation, two changes to the SDIL were announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget which will apply from 1 January 2028:

• reducing the lower sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5 grams to 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres; and
• removing previous exemptions for pre-packed added sugar milk-based and milk substitute, for example oat, soya, and/or almond, drinks.

The Department carried out a health benefits assessment to estimate the sugar and calorie reduction from these changes through product reformulation and consumer substitution to alternative drinks.

This analysis estimates a sugar reduction equivalent to per person per day calorie reductions of 0.3 kcal in five- to ten-year-olds, 0.4 kcal in 11- to 18-year-olds, 0.3 kcal in 19- to 64-year-olds, and 0.2 kcal in those aged 65 years old and over. This is equivalent to approximately four million kcal per day in children and 13 million kcal per day in adults.