[Youngian]

Especially after all those sugary cheaper tariff free biscuits and chocolate the kids will be scoffing down.
Has anyone explained the obesity crisis to Reeves and how much it costs the health service?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Especially after all those sugary cheaper tariff free biscuits and chocolate the kids will be scoffing down.
Has anyone explained the obesity crisis to Reeves and how much it costs the health service?

You're going to need to explain that to me, starting with the unproven myth that sugar causes hyperactivity...

[Youngian]

You're right, there's little evidence there's a medical cause for sugar making kids hyperactive. There is however a correlation of heightened excitement when children are handed out sweets and chocolate.
Medically its the opposite, sugar contributes to sluggish behaviour as a consequence of obesity and ill health. Any dietician will tell you your gran was right, eat up your greens and don't stuff yourself with sweets if you want to be healthier.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Possible that the new Health Secretary does more on childhood obesity than Streeting did.

[Youngian]

Seem to recall the measures already taken were well received among parents compared to the predictable libertarian crap from the Tories about the nanny state.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gove ... y-epidemic

[Tubby Isaacs]

Seem to recall the measures already taken were well received among parents compared to the predictable libertarian crap from the Tories about the nanny state.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/gove ... y-epidemic

Quite a few people think they need to go further and have worried too much about "Nanny State" criticisms.

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-an ... st-step-up

It is time for the government to reset its relationship with industry – underpinned by transparency and accountability. This means independent reporting, mandatory targets and compliance measures. This will enable better scrutiny and accountability of companies.
The new healthy food standard, requiring retailers to promote healthier food and drink choices and reporting on healthy food sales, aims to do just that. In a market driven by margins, doing the right thing can mean sacrificing profit or losing out to rivals. Regulation levels the playing field, enabling companies to act without competitive disadvantage. That’s why major retailers welcomed this move, signalling a major step forward.
However, allowing businesses to meet the standard in ‘whichever way works best for them’ risks repeating past mistakes, with flexibility becoming a loophole. With a long history of industry lobbying weakening public health measures, the government must resist capture by vested interests and robustly enforce standards.
Other countries have shown what is possible; Denmark’s public-private partnership with flour millers transformed the nation’s diet through a collaborative yet firm approach. That is the model we need: partnership on terms that prioritises public health.

I'm not particularly bothered with taking over parts of the flour industry, but it does seem like there's too much wiggle room in "whichever way works best for them". I guess we'll see.

[Youngian]

I'm no Mary Berry and I've figured out how to make tasty non dairy wholemeal cakes, biscuits and crumbles with no refined sugars. But excluded from 95% of retail products because every treat contains dairy and sugar produced by subsidised industries. If subsidies were transferred to healthier plant based alternatives and herbs and spices over sugar, the farming and food industries would follow the money.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Streeting's capital gains tax proposals seem to be very good, in fairness. Contain both allowances for inflation and entrepreneurship. I don't want him to become leader but I'm happy for him to suggest more stuff like this.

[Youngian]

Latest 'a source said' update is that Streeting isn't standing for the leadership. Interesting that Wes has been speaking about strategy stuff that Jo Public doesn't quite get while Andy's doing bread and butter issues they do.

[mattomac]

Reeves going to make buses free for kids in the summer holiday. Not a bad idea with all that spare capacity but a few bus drivers will be less than ecstatic.

My dad being an ex bus driver would say he knew many who were never happy.