Food labelling legislation means that pre-packaged food must include back of pack nutritional information. This includes total salt content.

In addition, food businesses can voluntarily provide nutritional information on the front-of-pack. Front-of-pack nutrition labelling helps to support healthier choices by showing complex nutritional information, including salt, to consumers in a way that is easy and quick to understand. The United Kingdom was one of the first to introduce a national front-of-pack labelling system, and the voluntary Multiple Traffic Light scheme has been in place across the UK since 2013. Manufacturers and retailers are encouraged to provide a label on as many of their products as possible where the information is meaningful for consumers.

We will continue to review the evidence on front-of-pack nutrition labelling and consider, with devolved administrations, whether further action is needed in the future. If changes to front-of-pack nutrition labelling are required, we will consult on proposed policy changes.

The new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) aligns with the latest United Kingdom dietary recommendations, particularly on free sugars and fibre, ensuring it reflects current evidence and remains a robust, evidence-based tool for identifying less healthy foods.

The new NPM is based on a review of the UK NPM 2004/05 to reflect changes to UK dietary recommendations since its development, which was undertaken by the former Public Health England, with the advice of an independent expert group, the NPM Expert Group.

The NPM Expert Group agreed not to develop a model from first principles, including making modifications to the theoretical basis of the UK NPM 2004/05. This included changing the base from per 100 grams to per portion size, which was extensively considered during the development of the NPM 2004/05.

The evidence base and modelling underpinning the NPM 2018 was published as part of the 2018 consultation, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-uk-nutrient-profiling-model-2018-review

Following the consultation, the NPM Expert Group considered the feedback, undertook further modelling, and agreed a final updated NPM.

The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. This includes the NPM 2018 Review and Consultation Outcome, associated UK NPM technical guidance, the UK NPM Expert Group responses to the points raised in the 2018 consultation, and the further modelling undertaken by the UK NPM Expert Group.

The Government will always be guided by the evidence. This is the first update to the NPM in 20 years. There are no further updates to the model planned, including consideration of portion size.

The new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) aligns with the latest United Kingdom dietary recommendations, particularly on free sugars and fibre, ensuring it reflects current evidence and remains a robust, evidence-based tool for identifying less healthy foods.

The new NPM is based on a review of the UK NPM 2004/05 to reflect changes to UK dietary recommendations since its development, which was undertaken by the former Public Health England, with the advice of an independent expert group, the NPM Expert Group.

The NPM Expert Group agreed not to develop a model from first principles, including making modifications to the theoretical basis of the UK NPM 2004/05. This included changing the base from per 100 grams to per portion size, which was extensively considered during the development of the NPM 2004/05.

The evidence base and modelling underpinning the NPM 2018 was published as part of the 2018 consultation, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-uk-nutrient-profiling-model-2018-review

Following the consultation, the NPM Expert Group considered the feedback, undertook further modelling, and agreed a final updated NPM.

The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. This includes the NPM 2018 Review and Consultation Outcome, associated UK NPM technical guidance, the UK NPM Expert Group responses to the points raised in the 2018 consultation, and the further modelling undertaken by the UK NPM Expert Group.

The Government will always be guided by the evidence. This is the first update to the NPM in 20 years. There are no further updates to the model planned, including consideration of portion size.

Healthier food targets and reporting is intended to improve the healthiness of food sales. We will consult soon on the design of the measures, a key aspect of which is to allow businesses flexibility to improve the healthiness of their sales in ways that best reflect their product portfolio and business model. For example, changing store layout, price points, or the reformulation of products. The consultation will also invite views on the size of the business in scope.

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, which gives me an opportunity to say how much I enjoyed appearing before her Committee to discuss these matters. The Government are very much looking forward to receiving the report from the Health and Social Care Committee, and I will ensure that I respond to it in due course with full details.

The Health and Social Care Committee is publishing its report tomorrow on fixing the food environment, and it will be making several recommendations to support everyone to eat more healthily. Will the Minister commit to engaging positively with the details of our report, and will she set out the steps that the Government are already taking in that area?

Food served at free breakfast clubs must meet the School Food Standards. The standards set out the types of food that should be served and how often and are designed to help children develop healthy eating habits and ensure they receive the nutrition needed for the school day.

The government is committed to half of all food served in public settings being either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards.

The School Food Standards allow school chefs and cooks creative freedom to adapt to the preferences of the children at their school, source seasonal or local food, and take advantage of price fluctuations.

We recently consulted on proposed changes to the School Food Standards in England. We are now reviewing the responses and feedback, and we will consider guidance for the new standards in due course.

Presently, schools can voluntarily follow the Government Buying Standards for food and catering, which includes advice around sourcing their school food.

The department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.

The new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) is built on the latest science and has been updated in line with the latest dietary advice, particularly in relation to free sugars, which are more strongly correlated with poor health outcomes, including obesity.

The Government committed in the 10-Year Health Plan to updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink by applying the new NPM. Applying the new NPM to these policies is expected to reduce a further 110,000 cases of childhood obesity.

The NPM is used as part of a two-step process to determine ‘less healthy’ food or drink products in scope of the advertising and promotions restrictions. Products must first fall within one of the product categories in the legislation and second, score four or above for food, or one or above for drink in an NPM assessment. Confectionery, including chocolates and sweets, are one of the categories in scope of the restrictions.

We published the new NPM on 27 January 2026. On 25 March 2026, we launched a 12-week consultation seeking views on its proposed application to the advertising and promotions restrictions. The consultation closed on 17 June 2026. Alongside the consultation, we published a consultation-stage impact assessment, setting out the direct costs to businesses for the proposed application of the new NPM to these restrictions and invited views on this assessment.

We have engaged extensively with stakeholders throughout the consultation period and sought further evidence on the potential impacts of the proposals as part of the consultation process. We will use evidence from the consultation and our extensive engagement with stakeholders to inform final policy decisions and the final impact assessment, which will be published ahead of any legislative changes being made.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, by the end of this Parliament, we will introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector. The plan also committed to introduce new targets to increase the healthiness of sales, and to engage the Food Strategy Advisory Board on sequencing.

We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our policy proposals. Final decisions on policy design and implementation will be taken following consultation.