New tax on junk food announced by Labour as part of plan to ‘get Brits back to work’ & take pressure off NHS
NEW taxes on junk food are being lined up to bring down the multi-billion pound sickness benefits bill.
Ministers are considering a range of “sin taxes” to reduce obesity rates which is keeping Brits off work with poor health.
The Tories however accused Welfare Secretary Liz Kendall of “kicking the can down the road” by “dodging” decisions to cut the benefits bill due to hit £100 billion by 2030.
But proposals laid out in the Get Britain Working document point to back pain and heart problems as a barrier for people getting back into work.
The plan also points to 500,000 people unemployed or economically inactive due to smoking, drinking at high levels or being obese.
A project taking place in Manchester is looking at tirzepatide weight loss jabs to bring down obestity levels.
The new plan states that “all levers” which could include taxes will be considered to encourage food and drink reformulation to help the clampdown on the overweight and obese.
It follows the soft drinks industry levy which saw a 46 per cent reduction in sugar in beverages between 2015 and 2020.
It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting previously said he was ready to deploy “the heavy hand of state regulation” to force firms to make healthier products.
Chris Snowdon, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Whatever the problem, this government thinks taxes are the solution.
“The reality is that sugar taxes have never worked anywhere in the world and Denmark’s brief experiment with a fat tax was a disaster.
“Increasing the cost of living would be economically reckless and politically suicidal.
“Obesity is once again being used as a distraction from the real issues which, in this instance, are the failings of the welfare system and a suspiciously large rise in the number of people off work with mental health conditions.”