The new government Food Strategy. A welcome approach or missed opportunity?
What do they say – things come in threes? Buses, musketeers (or were there four) And UK government food policy related announcements. So, since the end of June we’ve had separate announcements in the following order: ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, UK Government food strategy, and funding for pilots for state-funded subsidised restaurants, fruit and veg vouchers and mobile green grocers.
So, what do the respective announcements tell us?
Firstly, we shouldn’t pay too much attention to the fact that each was separate. I used to work in Government communications - each department needs its own ‘15 minutes of fame’. But it also speaks to the complexities of developing Government food policy. Research by the Centre for Food Policy at City St Georges, University of London in 2020, revealed that 16 different Government Departments are involved.
Taking each in turn...
‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’ is a wide-ranging document covering themes from hospital to community...analogue to digital. The relevance to the Food Alliance work (and the wider food system) is the shift from illness to prevention (the goal is to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions, while increasing it for everyone, and to raise the healthiest generation of children ever) and the role that food can play.
There’s recognition that food choices are partly an individual choice, but they are also influenced by our environment (particularly true for children, who have little choice in the food they eat). The range of food policy interventions proposed include:
- Restrict junk food advertising targeted at children
- Revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to give councils stronger powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools
- Ban sales of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds
- Further reforms to the soft drinks industry levy (milk- based drinks)
- Mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector (set targets on the average healthiness of sales)
- Increase the value of Healthy Start from FY 2026 to 2027: £4.65 per week (up from £4.25) and £9.30 every week (up from £8.50) - particularly relevant to the Food Alliance work
- Expand free school meals so that all children with a parent in receipt of Universal Credit are eligible (also relevant to the Food Alliance work).
- Update school food standards to ensure all schools provide healthy, nutritious food.
UK Government food strategy – this sets out a whole food system approach to ensure every community can access healthy, affordable, and proudly British food.
This is laid out in ten outcomes with the aim of driving generational change in our relationship with food via policies such as greener supply chains and mandatory reporting on the sales of healthy food. Specifically relevant to the current Food Alliance work is: outcome 2- Access for all to safe, affordable, healthy, convenient and appealing food options (sounds very much like the Alliance vision statement), outcome 9 - Celebrated and valued UK, regional and local food cultures (particularly the role of local food partnerships) and outcome 10 - People are more connected to their local food systems and have the confidence, knowledge and skills to cook and eat healthily. Some of this feels like ‘I told you so’ moment!
The strategy recognises that working families are struggling to put healthy food on the table. And cost-of-living crisis has hit the most vulnerable hardest. With 'People’ (through the Citizens Advisory Council (CAC)) and ‘Place’ at the centre of it.
Encouragingly, it links food and health policy (why has it taken so long) and it emphasises the ambition of Government departments to work together (no mean feat when based on my point above). It also makes it clear that many of the policy areas and strategies are still under development, and all will continue to evolve, so potentially there’s the opportunity to influence or advocate for!
On the downside (because there must be one, right?) is the removal of the commitment to publish a ‘White Paper’ which may have led to future legislation and regulation. And an Advisory Board skewed towards ‘big’ food business, including representatives from Sainsbury’s, Cranswick and McCain. Some of the very same organisations that many would argue are the reasons why the food system is in its current state. Personally, that argument is a little bit too simplistic.
Funding for pilots for state-funded subsidised restaurants, fruit and veg vouchers and mobile green grocers...these highlight the art of the possible! It also highlights the importance of piloting good ideas - for example, the Queen of Greens mobile green grocers was launched in 2022, and the benefit of working collaboratively.
Food system and developing effective food policy is complex. There’s a strong food business lobbying movement. It’s them versus everyone else. Key to its success will be the influence of Government Ministers on the Advisory Borad. Plus, any changes to legislation secured in the context of the 10 Year Health plan.
Personally, I welcome the announcements. They highlight that our priorities for the last two years have been the right ones. And it provides a framing for our work locally for the remaining 12 months of the Food Alliance project. You can read a summary of both the 10 Year Health Plan for England and Government food strategy here 2025 07 17 - CEFA - 10 Year NHS Plan_Govt Food policy.pptx
Our next Food Alliance meeting on 23rd September will look at the Governments food policy announcements in more detail. Why not be part of that conversation? Book your place today.
