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Our campaign for the enactment of the two taxes to tackle child ill health, emotional distress and poverty has had a Ministerial Response from Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families and Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Early Education.

HERE IS THE RESPONSE:

I am replying on behalf of Minister Morgan and Minister Daby.

This Government is committed to tackling child poverty. We believe our comprehensive Child Poverty Strategy will be central in unlocking opportunity and giving every child the best start in life. The Prime Minister announced, on 17 July 2024, the appointment of the Work & Pension Secretary and the Education Secretary to be the joint leads of a new ministerial taskforce to begin work on the Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Taskforce has started urgent work to publish the Strategy in Spring 2025 and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across Government to reduce child poverty.

The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will be introduced to raise standards in education and promote children’s wellbeing and to ensure that every child has a fulfilling childhood, enabling them to succeed and thrive. Through this bill, the Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and learning. The right support should be available to every young person that needs it, which is why we will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. Breakfast clubs will remove barriers to opportunity by ensuring every primary school child, no matter their circumstance, is well prepared for school and can achieve their full potential by providing a supportive start to the day. The Government is committed to making quick progress to deliver on its commitment to offer breakfast clubs in every primary school.

I note your proposals for a high fat, salt & sugar levy and an increased digital tax. The Government keeps all taxes under regular review. Decisions about the future development of taxes are made by the Chancellor, in line with the Government’s tax policy-making framework.

Presently, the UK’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) applies to manufacturers and importers of added sugar soft drinks with a total sugar content of 5g sugar or more per 100ml. The tax was designed to encourage businesses to reduce the levels of sugar in products and therefore the amount of tax they would pay.

The Online Safety Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. Companies raising revenue from online services will cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Act allows Ofcom to require a provider of a regulated service to pay a fee.

I also note your suggestions for uses of your proposed taxes. As you will appreciate, ministerial teams are currently working with departmental officials on plans to deliver the Government’s manifesto commitments. Our aim is to deliver better life chances for all, through a system which works for all. I will outline below what is presently happening in these spaces.

You refer to free school meals. The Government currently provides over three million children with free and nutritious lunches. Furthermore, the National School Breakfast Programme is supporting up to 2,700 schools in disadvantaged areas, with funding until the end of the summer term in 2025.

You also mention implementing a national play strategy. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives which is why within the EYFS framework, early years practitioners are encouraged to create games and provide opportunity for play both indoors and outdoors.

Regarding your call for investment in community sports facilities, the Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sports facilities provide important places for people of all ages to be active, as well as vital social spaces and community hubs. The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Treasury and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions. The Government is also acting to support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live through the delivery of £123 million UK-wide through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.

On your point about a school nurse for every school, services are commissioned by Local Authorities who receive funding from the Public Health grant. The school nursing workforce is fundamental to improving the health and wellbeing of school age children and young people and they lead the delivery of the universal healthy child programme.

Your last point asked for a fit-for-purpose personal, social, health education curriculum. The consultation on an amended draft of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance closed on 11 July and received over 14,330 responses. It’s vitally important that teachers have clear guidance, which is why we will be looking carefully at the consultation responses, re-engaging with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, before setting out next steps to take the RSHE guidance forward. Children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of the RSHE guidance for schools.

I hope you find the above information useful. I thank you again for outlining your campaign and your input.

Yours sincerely,

The Department for Education