The government has published its plan to transform cancer care and outcomes in England by 2035, as part of its National Cancer Plan.
Prompted by Lord Darzi’s 2024 inquiry into the state of the NHS, and informed by a national consultation, the plan’s headline commitment is to improve 5-year survival and to achieve outcomes comparable with international peers.
Within the plan is a brief nod to the role of prevention, specifically how smoking, alcohol and unhealthy diets can play a role in protecting future generations, including a specific reference to the Healthy Food Standards:
Action 28: As set out in the 10 Year Health Plan, we will introduce mandatory healthy food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector. We will use that reporting to set new mandatory targets on the average healthiness of sales. Companies will have freedom in how they meet those targets – from innovative use of promotions (e.g. on healthy food), use of loyalty cards, reformulation of own-brand products, influence over their supply chain or supermarket layout changes. Taken together, this will help the public to make healthier choices and give investors a more transparent view of which companies are offering healthy products.
Our Executive Director, Katharine Jenner, responds:
“We are pleased to see the government reiterate their commitment to the Healthy Food Standard within the National Cancer Plan, recognising that preventing cancer is not only about treatment and early diagnosis, but also about shaping the food environments that influence millions of daily choices.
Mandatory reporting and targets on the healthiness of food sales should help shift the market towards healthier options at scale, making the healthy choice the easy choice for families across England. Six months have now passed since the NHS 10 Year Plan was published, and we are keen to see the government take the next step to turn words into action.”
Read the report here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698315a35a7e802e96d343a4/national-cancer-plan-for-england-delivering-world-class-cancer-care.pdf