Soft Drinks: Taxation
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy thresholds on future investment in the development of healthier soft drinks.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
An assessment of economic and other impacts is included as part of the ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation document. This is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy.
The indicative Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) analysis estimates that the changes would reduce calories, across the UK population, by around 15 million kcal per day in children and 46 million kcal per day in adults. These calorie reductions could achieve health and economic benefits of around £4.2 billion over 25 years.
The proposed changes were subject to a consultation, which was open until 21 July 2025. The Government will consider the consultation responses closely prior to making any decision at a future Budget. If the Government decides to make changes to the levy, it will publish an updated assessment of the confirmed policy’s impacts.
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