๐จ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ฒ (๐๐๐๐) ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ค & ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ-๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ; ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐.๐๐ /๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐.
The UK Government has confirmed it will end the exemption for pre-packaged milk-based drinks with added sugar (e.g., bottled milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, RTD milky coffees) and bring plant-based alternatives with added sugar into scope.
At the same time, the entry threshold drops from 5.0g to 4.5g total sugars/100ml, expanding the number of products liable unless reformulated. ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐, ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ โ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง-๐๐ฎ๐ฉโ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐รฉ๐ฌ, as do โopen-cupโ drinks prepared in cafรฉs. Levy bands and rates remain: 19.4p/L for 4.5โ7.9g/100ml and 25p/L for โฅ8g/100ml. Go-live is 1 January 2028, allowing industry time to reformulate.
Policy design includes a โlactose allowanceโ so that naturally occurring lactose is largely excluded when determining liability; added or hydrolysed lactose and lactose from whey powder still count. ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ-๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ญ (๐.๐ ., ๐จ๐๐ญ๐ฌ/๐ฌ๐จ๐ฒ๐) ๐ค๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐.
Government shifted the implementation date from the originally proposed April 2027 to 1st January 2028 (to reflect reformulation challenges and concurrent DRS rollout) and plans a technical consultation on draft legislation in 2026, followed by inclusion in a Finance Bill ahead of commencement.
The aim of the bill is to help curb the โobesity crisisโ in the UK and protect British children, who suffer from one of the highest obesity rates in the Western world.
Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer: the UK is now having the third-highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, and this is costing the NHS approximately ยฃ11.4 billion a year, 3 times the NHS budget for ambulance services.
Obesity is a complex and multifactorial issue, and taxes alone have demonstrated in the past not to be enough to tackle the issue, but are certainly one of the tools that have an impact on consumers’ behaviour, and governments can consider within a broader strategy.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drink-levy-extended-to-protect-children-and-improve-health
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