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The current Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) is over 20 years old and out of date. It does not reflect the latest evidence, particularly on free sugars, which are strongly correlated with poor health outcomes, like dental caries and weight gain that could lead to obesity.

The Government has committed to updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink by applying the new NPM.

Like the current NPM, NPM 2004/5, the new NPM, NPM 2018, uses a scoring system in which points are allocated for nutrients or ingredients within a food or drink per 100 grams. The model attempts to balance the contribution made by ‘beneficial’ nutrients, that is, protein, fibre, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, to a child’s diet, alongside the ‘negative’ contributions from nutrients, that is, energy, saturated fat, free sugars and salt, of which children’s intakes are higher than recommended. The protein component of the model acts as a marker for nutrients such as calcium, iron, and n-3 polyunsaturated fats, and accounts for foods such as meat, fish, and dairy, and their contribution to intakes of these nutrients.

The review of the NPM was undertaken by an independent expert group to align with the latest Government dietary recommendations. The United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition updated their dietary recommendations on sugar and fibre in 2015 and are reflected in the Eatwell Guide. The new NPM has undergone rigorous scientific scrutiny and extensive consultation since its development.

Many dairy products can and do pass the new NPM, particularly those lower in free sugars and saturated fat and can provide healthier sources of calcium and protein within the diet.

We have launched a consultation on the proposed application of the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions on less healthy food and drink products, which is open until 17 June. A consultation-stage impact assessment was published alongside the consultation. We will use the feedback and evidence from the consultation to inform final policy decisions and the final impact assessment which, subject to the outcome of the consultation, would be published ahead of any legislative changes being made.

We continue to engage regularly with stakeholders and other Government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as we develop these proposals.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Heath Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

As part of this, we are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotions restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and will more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.

Applying the new NPM to our advertising and promotions policies will further incentivise businesses to reformulate their products, making it easier for consumers to make healthier food choices.

We have published guidance to industry on how to determine which food and drink products will be in scope of the advertising and promotions restrictions. Products are classified as ‘less healthy’ for the purpose of the restrictions if they achieve a score within the thresholds of the NPM and fall into one of the categories of food and drink products which are of most concern to childhood obesity, which are set out in the regulations.

We will publish a consultation this year to seek stakeholder views on applying the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions on less healthy food and drink products, including an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes. We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future that applying the new NPM to these policies is expected to reduce a further 170,000 cases of childhood obesity.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Heath Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

As part of this, we are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotions restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and will more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.

Applying the new NPM to our advertising and promotions policies will further incentivise businesses to reformulate their products, making it easier for consumers to make healthier food choices.

We have published guidance to industry on how to determine which food and drink products will be in scope of the advertising and promotions restrictions. Products are classified as ‘less healthy’ for the purpose of the restrictions if they achieve a score within the thresholds of the NPM and fall into one of the categories of food and drink products which are of most concern to childhood obesity, which are set out in the regulations.

We will publish a consultation this year to seek stakeholder views on applying the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions on less healthy food and drink products, including an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes. We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future that applying the new NPM to these policies is expected to reduce a further 170,000 cases of childhood obesity.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

As part of this, we are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotion restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity.

The Government has met with a range of stakeholders over the past year to listen to their concerns, and officials met with Dairy UK in August 2025.

The Government remains committed to engaging relevant stakeholders and we will consult this year on the application of an updated NPM’s to the advertising and promotion restrictions to ensure they can feed in their views.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) and National Insurance contributions are the responsibility of HM Treasury and packaging taxes fall under the remit of the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.

The Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) is under the remit of the Department of Health and Social Care. We are committed to updating the standards which underpin the advertising restrictions on television and online and the promotion restrictions in stores and their equivalent places online on ‘less healthy’ food and drink products. The NPM 2004/05 is plainly out of date and updating the standards will strengthen the restrictions by reflecting the latest dietary advice and more effectively target the products of most concern to childhood obesity. An impact assessment will be published alongside a consultation later this year.

It was announced at Budget 2025 that milk based and milk substitute drinks, for instance soya, almond, and/or oat, would be included in the scope of the SDIL from 1 January 2028. These reforms are not expected to have any significant macroeconomic impacts, including on employment, on the basis that the levy is limited to soft drinks, and an estimated 11% of United Kingdom soft drink sales will be affected. A full assessment of the impacts of these changes is included within the Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – Summary of Responses document. This is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy/outcome/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy-summary-of-responses#assessment-of-impacts

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the bill, containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts. The Government protected the smallest hospitality businesses from recent changes to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500.

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs published the updated impact assessment of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme in October 2024, which evaluated the overall effects on packaging producers, without disaggregating by sector.

Defra and the European Commission regularly exchange information in relation to (a) the management of foot and mouth disease outbreaks in the European Union in 2025 and (b) the import restrictions on meat and dairy products that we put in place to protect UK farmers. This information includes details of surveillance, testing, movements of animals and goods, and other outbreak controls.

In England, Border Force and port health officials seize and destroy illegal imports of meat and dairy products, and importers risk additional sanctions including financial penalties or prosecution.

On 12 April 2025, Defra extended the ban on personal imports of meat and dairy products from the European Union (EU) following recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Germany and other EU countries. Defra has worked with other government departments, ports, airports and international travel operators to communicate the ban.

Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.