Restricting promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt: consultation analysis - SG response

Public Consultation

Introduction

Preventative public health action to help create a Scotland where it is easier for everyone to eat well and maintain a healthy weight is a priority for tackling the role that obesity and diet plays in causing ill health. Restricting the promotion of less healthy food and drink that is high in fat, sugar or salt is one of a suite of actions intended to help create a food environment that supports healthier lives.

A public consultation was held in 2024 to seek views on the detail of proposed regulations including:

• targeted foods within the scope of restrictions;
• price promotions within the scope of restrictions, including meal deals and temporary price reductions;
• the approach to placement restrictions of targeted foods in store and online;
• qualifying businesses within the scope of restrictions, including proposed exemptions; and
• the approach to enforcement and implementation.

Restricting promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt - proposed regulations: consultation ran from 27 February to 21 May. A total of 362 responses were received and analysed.

The number of responses received from individuals was 279 representing 77% of total respondents. The number of responses received from industry (including representative bodies, retailers, manufacturers) was 37 representing 10% of total respondents. The number of responses received from public and third sector organisations was 46 representing 13% of total respondents.

The Scottish Government recognises that, as the independent analysis sets out: “Consultations are open to anyone who wishes to take part. The information collected reflects the views of those respondents but cannot be considered as representative of the wider population.”

Overall, feedback to the proposals can be summarised as follows:

• Individuals gave mixed responses. Support tended to be on the basis that action is needed to support diet and healthy weight. Opposition tended to reflect general disagreement with the overall premise of restricting the sale of particular foods and state intervention. Concerns were also raised around cost of living pressures and the impact of restrictions on food prices.
• Industry stakeholders were generally supportive of proposals where these align with equivalent regulations for England to minimise regulatory burden; strongly oppose restricting meal deals and temporary price reductions suggest comprehensive guidance is required to support implementation.
• Public and third sector stakeholders were very supportive of proposals, particularly proposals to include temporary price reductions within scope of restrictions; want regulations to be as comprehensive as possible to maximise positive public health impact and reduce loopholes.

The independent consultation analysis report is available on the Scottish Government’s website, and all of the consultation responses for which respondents have given permission to be published, can be found online.

The consultation was run in parallel with an extensive programme of stakeholder engagement. This included one to one meetings and a series of Ministerial roundtable discussions with key stakeholders, including lived experience groups, industry representative bodies, retailers, out of home sector, manufacturers as well as public health organisations. Overall, the findings from the consultation analysis align with the feedback received during discussions with stakeholders. The findings also broadly echo the feedback to previous consultations (2018 and 2022).

Engagement with people with lived experience of poverty found overall that while participants welcomed the intent behind the policy, there was also concern expressed on the impact of the cost crisis on people and the impact of the proposals in that context. The opportunity for promotions to be rebalanced towards healthier products was also noted.