Ministers recently announced that the planned ban on ‘buy one get one free’ deals for food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar, as well as free refills for soft drinks, would be pushed back for a year, whilst officials assessed the impact on household finances as families struggle with the increasing cost of living, as reported by the BBC.
Meanwhile, “plans to restrict TV advertising of junk foods before the 21:00 GMT watershed and paid-for online adverts were also paused. They will not come into force until January 2024,” the broadcaster shared.
It reported that, “Public health minister Maggie Throup insisted the government remained committed to tackling the issue of childhood obesity.”
"Pausing restrictions on deals like 'buy one get one free' will allow us to understand its impact on consumers in light of an unprecedented global economic situation," she said.
However, former Conservative Party leader Lord Hague has said that “the government's decision to delay parts of its obesity strategy is ‘morally reprehensible’”.
Writing in the Times, he said the government was "intellectually shallow" and "politically weak" for giving in to Tory MPs who had been critical of the strategy.
"Many Tories object to the 'nanny state' image of anti-obesity policies and think it is 'un-Conservative' to pursue them," he said.
"As a former Tory leader, I emphatically disagree with this interpretation of conservatism.
"Conservatives support freedom of choice but have always seen that it is sometimes necessary to prevent consumers being abused or misled."