UK News: Knowsley Council, Parliament: questions, debates…

First – Some excellent news from Knowsley Council – who are restricting marketing of health-harming foods, including formulas and baby foods.

How baby formula marketing could be risking infant health – and mislead parents

BBC Today programme Amul Rajan interviews Dr Sarah McNulty of Knowsley Council. Move to 2.47.51

Current formula marketing in the UK: Why DHSC should accept the Competition and Markets Authority recommendations in full Stronger, enforced regulations are needed to protect all babies and families July 2025

 

Back to Parliament…..

Following on from the launch of the WBTi report on 24th June and the excellent Adjournment Debate led by Jess Brown-Fuller on 1st July, there have been a number debates, questions in Parliament and government reports, that could all impact on breastfeeding and infant and young child health. Here are some!

Jess Brown Fuller questions the Minister for Education on the DFE’s  Policy paper: Giving every child the best start in life published 7th July: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life
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Fit for the Future: The 10 Year Health Plan for England  This  paper was launched last week. The  focus on    ‘growth’  and ‘innovation’ is worrying when there is  no mention of the need to protect the policy-setting and planning from commercial  Conflicts of Interest alongside uncritical references to corporate strategies that we know are harmful.  For example:

“This Coalition is not waiting for Government. Danone(119) has committed to never introducing a high fat, salt or sugar product targeted at children.”   …….”Our new operating model, will support the growth of the industries working with us on our health mission. Failure of the NHS to partner, and any sign of a ‘not invented here’ mentality, will not be tolerated…..The new centre will ensure relationships with industry are genuine partnerships, where too often they have been transactional. We will expand the role life sciences and technology companies can play a role in service delivery.”

This article on Plant Based drinks shows why this is such a bogus claim and how Danone’s aggressive promotion of formulas is so harmful.

 “UK data show that GUM are the main source of free sugars among those 12- to 18-month-old children who consume them, accounting for half of their total free sugars intake”

Alpro growing up milks are the highest sugar products available for families to buy their young children with quantities that push young children well over their DHSC recommended free sugars intake. The products state ‘low in sugar’ on the pack, because by an adult metric, and by DHSC definition of free sugars, they are not high in sugars. But for the targeted age-group the sugar level is high.

Drinks for young children marketed as ‘growing up’ and ‘toddler’ milks and drinks

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The report includes none of the safeguards recommended in WHO’s Guidance for Member States published in 2024: Supporting member states in reaching informed decision-making on engaging with private : sector entities for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: a practical tool.

For example: “How can we best harness the private sector’s resources, expertise and networks without compromising our public health goals? For one, it is essential to implement transparent and informed decision-making processes aligned with core public health principles and NCD priorities, to conduct proper due diligence and to identify and manage risks. By doing so, Member States can enhance their decision-making capacity and unlock untapped opportunities while safeguarding public health from risks, including undue influence and conflicts of interest.” “…Collaboration between governments and private sector entities for the prevention and control of NCDs remains challenging in practice, generally due to conflicts of interest, the commercial determinants of health and the fact that no engagement is risk-free.” “… taking measures to identify, avoid and manage or mitigate conflicts of interest and prevent the interference of private sector entities in public health policy development…”

Plant-Based and Dairy-Free Drinks: An Emerging Health Hazard for Young Children.  Rachel M Childs, Robert J. Boyle | Victoria L. Sibson.   Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2024; 54:852–854 https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.14589

Our comments on this guide.

New publications on Conflicts of interest in the Future Healthcare Journal:

Commercial Determinants and Conflicts of Interest in Public Health and Policy – The urgent need to end sponsorship of healthcare professional associations by the commercial milk formula industry

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House of Commons Debate on Children’s Health
Backbench Business Debate on Children’s Health on Thursday 10 July.
Hansard transcript of the Debate that was led by Dr Simon Opher, Labour MP for Stroud at 3.51pm.
“….First, obesity is a massive problem in young people. At the age of five, 10% of children are obese. By the age of 11, 22% are obese—and that does not count the children who are overweight. This starts in pregnancy. We must ensure that pregnant women have really healthy diets, because that reduces obesity. When a baby is born, parents need to be aware that follow-on milks and “hungry baby” milks are basically just milk packed full of sugar. That will not do the child any good. If they are hungry, they need to change their diet and possibly go on to solids. Baby snacks often look healthy—they might have a nice, healthy carrot on them—but when we look at what is in them, they are packed full of sugar as well. Parents need to have a clear idea of what is healthy, so that they can choose the healthiest foods for their children….
I want to talk quickly about early years support. In Gloucestershire, an organisation called Home-Start involves volunteers going into the homes of women who have just given birth to support them. Interestingly, women who have had that support often go on to be volunteers. It is a fantastic organisation. This week I was delighted that the successor to Sure Start, Best Start family hubs, is coming back. Sure Start was one of the most glorious things that the Blair Government did, and it affected the health of young people enormously. I am pleased that childcare is getting much more funding. Furthermore, as set out in the 10-year plan, Healthy Start will be restarted in 2026-27, providing money to pregnant women and children aged one to four whose families are in financial difficulty, helping those who are less well off….”

Jess Assato, Labour MP for Lowestoft

“….I am glad that the 10-year health plan that the Health Secretary set out a week ago begins an important shift towards prevention and early intervention, and I welcome the plan’s aim to “end the obesity epidemic”. I remain concerned that the ban on advertising unhealthy food and drink will mean that brands can continue to advertise so long as they do not explicitly identify their unhealthy products, and I hope that the Government will consider how to deal with that issue…”

 4.39pm Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)

“….Last week we published our 10-year plan for health, which sets out how we will fix our broken NHS and make it fit for today’s children and for future generations. We on the Government Benches will not rest until every working person receives the same kind of healthcare that the wealthy expect.

The three shifts that underpin our plan are the building blocks to ensure that children get the best start in life. The first is from treatment to prevention. We know that a baby’s first 1,001 days, from conception to the age of two, set the foundations for later years, so we are establishing Best Start family hubs, building on the legacy of Sure Start, which was a lifeline for working families under the last Labour Government. Earlier this week we published the “Giving every child the best start in life” strategy, and we will provide funding to every local authority in England for Best Start family hubs, because no parent should have to face the challenges of parenthood alone.  We are also taking firm action on obesity, which many Members raised today, and which affects nearly one in five children leaving primary school. Our action includes restricting junk food advertising, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks, updating school food standards, strengthening the soft drinks industry levy, introducing healthy food sales reporting and, ultimately, using that reporting to set new sales targets.  The Government have regulations in place to set nutritional, compositional and labelling standards for commercial baby food, and we continue to challenge the industry to take further action, providing advice and guidance for parents. Enforcement of nutrition legislation is the responsibility of local authorities. Good nutrition in the early years is vital. We recognise that there are opportunities to support parents and make the healthier choice easier by encouraging businesses to improve baby foods. I will set out our plans on that soon.”

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When contacting MPs its a good idea to remind them of why breastfeeding is important for children’s health:
Breastfed babies have a lower risk of developing:
  • gastrointestinal, respiratory and ear infections
  • asthma and allergies
  • dental decay
  • child obesity and diabetes
  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and necrotising enterocolitis (NEC)
  • childhood leukaemia
  • child and adolescent mental health problems
Breastfeeding is the single most effective intervention in preventing child obesity.
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