The Local Government Association’s community wellbeing chief Izzi Seccombe said: “We have called for fundamental reforms, such as a mandatory reduction of sugar in soft drinks, better sugar labelling on food and drink products, calorie counts on menus in chain restaurants, and for councils to be given powers to ban junk food advertising near schools”.
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The delayed strategy, published today, backs increasing physical activity in schools, and voluntary schemes to encourage food companies to reduce the sugar in their products. “This includes doubling the Primary PE and Sport Premium and putting a further £10 million a year into school healthy breakfast clubs to give more children a healthier start to their day”.
“Along with banning firms using child friendly cartoon characters in advertising and a ban on multi-buy promotions in supermarkets it would have given people in the United Kingdom the best possible chance of a healthy life and reduce the amount of sugar we consume”.
The announcement will include a target for food manufacturers to reduce the level of sugar in food and drink by 20 per cent in five years – but it will be voluntary, and will not include numerous measures demanded by health campaigners, such as curbs on advertising.
“This is a truly shocking abdication of the government’s duties to secure the health and future of the next generation”, says Clark.
The Government has been accused of watering down childhood obesity strategy.
Drinks with 5g of sugar per 100ml will face a lower rate of tax while those with more than 8g per 100ml will face a higher rate.
“It contains a few nice ideas, but so much is missing”, he wrote on Facebook.
Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of AoS and Consensus Action on Salt and Health, said: “After the farce of the Responsibility Deal where Andrew Lansley made the food industry responsible for policing themselves, it is sad to see that this is just another imitation of the same Responsibility Deal take two”.
“We need stronger action to protect children from junk food advertising if we want to make a difference”.
Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation, said the target was flawed.
Previously, the celebrity chef said he was in “shock” over the details of the long-awaited strategy to tackle childhood obesity.
She added: “It is deeply concerning that there is no mention of plans to tackle the marketing which is aimed at children, which can normalise and incentivise unhealthy habits”.
Referring to Prime Minister Theresa May’s pledge to tackle heath inequality, Dr Wollaston said the government should not make such promises then – as the “first litmus test of that” – put the “interests of advertising marketers ahead of the interests of children”.
The levy tax will target producers and importers of sugary soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
“It could have been one of the most important pieces of work of our time, but instead it was prepared and delivered in the most underhand, insensitive, unstrategic way”.
Taking out 20 per cent of sugar in products that contribute to children’s sugar intakes by at least 20 per cent by 2020, including a 5 per cent reduction in year one.
Under the plan, Public Health England, a state agency, will monitor the progress of the food and beverage industry, and publish reports every six months.
“We are very disappointed about the omissions in the strategy”, she said.
This scheme will be taken into account during Ofsted inspections, and in 2017 the regulator will undertake a thematic review on obesity, healthy eating and physical activity in schools.
He said: “It focuses too strongly on the role of this single nutrient, when obesity is caused by excess calories from any nutrient”.
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Gavin Partington, of the British Soft Drinks Association called for a more “holistic” approach to reducing obesity.
