Scottish government planning new consultation on ‘direct and efficient’ route to HFSS restrictions

The Scottish Government on Tuesday (30) published a summary of the responses to its initial consultation on high fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) product restrictions, setting out a path toward further consultation in the autumn.

Measures initially proposed by the Scottish Government sought to go further than those already in legislation in England, specifically including islands and freestanding displays within the location restrictions, and banning any temporary price reductions within the promotional restrictions.

In a statement in the Scottish Parliament today, Public Health Minister Jenni Minto MSP suggested that there was a ‘more direct and efficient way’ for the Scottish Government to achieve its policy objectives on obesity, which may not require primary legislation. A more focused consultation on the proposals is now due to take place in the autumn.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We have raised concerns with the Scottish Government on several occasions about the lack of consistency of approach across the UK nations, which would present significant operational challenges and further confusion for retailers and suppliers, especially those who operate in both England and Scotland.

“A comparable legislative approach on HFSS for Scotland and England would be the least operationally difficult for everyone to deal with, and would help retailers to be able to share best practice on how to comply with the regulations in the most efficient way possible.”

The summary of consultation responses to the Scottish Government’s proposals on HFSS is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/consultation-analysis-restricting-promotions-food-drink-high-fat-sugar-salt/. ACS’ comprehensive guide to the HFSS regulations in England is available here: https://www.acs.org.uk/advice/hfss-regulations

The Scottish Government also confirmed today that they plan to take no further mandatory action at this time on the sale of energy drinks and will pause the introduction of mandatory calorie labelling for the out of home sector.