The government has today announced an expansion of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), widening it to include sugary milk-based drinks and lowering the lower threshold of the tax from 5g to 4.5g.
The Obesity Health Alliance has long called on the government to build on the success of the SDIL; which evidence shows has been hugely effective in reducing sugar consumption and associated with reductions in tooth extractions in children and cases of obesity in girls 10-11 – all without harming industry growth. We applaud the government for taking this bold move which, along with implementing the 10 Year Health Plan in full, will play a key role in supporting them achieve their mission of raising the healthiest generation of children ever.
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director of the Obesity Health Alliance welcomed the news:
“Ending the exemption for sugary milkshakes and bringing more sugary soft drinks into the levy is a sensible and long-overdue step to protect children’s health – especially their teeth. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already removed billions of teaspoons of sugar from the nation’s diet without harming industry growth, proving that clear, consistent rules are effective.
“We now urge the Government to press on with implementing the rest of its NHS 10-year plan for health. Mandatory reporting of healthy food sales with clear targets, improved school food standards, a ban on energy drinks for children, and tighter junk-food advertising rules based on the latest Nutrient Profile Model, alongside a stronger levy, would help rebuild a food environment that supports children’s health rather than undermines it.”
Under the updated policy, which was consulted on between April-July 2025, the levy will now apply to pre-packaged sugary drinks such as flavoured milks, milkshakes, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks and ready-to-drink coffees.
Previously, drinks with at least 75% milk were exempt due to the calcium content. However, the government’s own analysis found that young people get only around 3.5% of their calcium intake from milk-based drinks, with most coming from plain milk, bread and cereal products – small contribution these sugary drinks make does not justify their exemption, particularly when some contain as much sugar as a can of cola
Plain, unsweetened milk and milk-alternative drinks and milkshakes and sweetened coffees sold in out of home outlets including coffee shops, as well as Growing Up Milks, will remain exempt.
Government modelling suggests the extension could reduce adults’ daily calorie intake by 13 million and children’s by 4 million across England, which could amount to £1 billion in combined health and economic benefits, including £36 million in NHS savings, £30 million in reduced social care pressures and more than £200 million in economic gains through improved workforce participation.
As part of the changes, the sugar threshold for the levy will also be lowered from 5g to 4.5g per 100ml. Manufacturers have until 1 January 2028 to reduce sugar levels or face the charge.
The press release can be found here.
A summary of the consultation responses can be found here.
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director at Obesity Health Alliance is available for media interview. Please contact press@obesityhealthalliance.org.uk to arrange.
Members of the Alliance responded:
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “The more sugar cut from drinks on supermarket shelves, the better, so extending the levy to include sugary milk-based drinks is the right thing to do. The current levy has been extremely effective at incentivising manufacturers to reduce sugar levels in soft drinks, and evidence has shown free sugar consumption in children and adults has decreased.
“Diets high in sugar are linked to weight gain and obesity, which increase the risk cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. We hope this move motivates manufacturers to cut the amount of sugar in milk-based drinks and going forward, we need to keep up the pace of progress so families have far more healthy choices available to them.”
Dr Ian Walker, Executive Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “We welcome the UK Government taking stronger action on sugary drinks by extending the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to milk-based products and lowering the sugar threshold. These steps will help cut sugar consumption, support healthier choices, and ultimately reduce the risk of cancer – something Cancer Research UK has long called for.
“Bold measures like this, alongside commitments on junk food advertising and healthy food standards, must now be delivered in full and enforced properly to create healthier environments for everyone.”
Helen Kirrane, Head of Policy, Campaigns & Mobilisation at Diabetes UK said: “With cases of type 2 diabetes continuing to rise at an alarming rate, particularly in younger people, we need bold action to cut unnecessary sugar from food and drink.
“The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already substantially reduced the sugar in soft drinks, lowering the amount of sugar consumed by children. Expanding it to include milk-based and milk-alternative drinks, which can contain large amounts of hidden sugar, is a welcome step forward.
“We know that, for many people, it can be overwhelming to navigate such a wide range of products, and it’s not always clear what is good for us. This change will help ensure the healthier choice is the easier choice.”
Barbara Crowther, Children’s Food Campaign Manager at Sustain said: “This update rightly prioritises children’s health over corporate profit. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has brilliantly succeeded in getting companies to reduce sugar and treating sugary milkshakes the same as fizzy drinks is the right thing to do.
“Companies who’ve already reduced sugar will now be rewarded for acting responsibly, whilst those still stacking excess sugar into milkshakes will now have a clear choice: change their recipe or pay for the health harm caused.
“Aligning the levy threshold with advertising and promotion rules is a sensible move, giving industry one consistent benchmark and making it easier to do business.
”We urge the Government now to consider further levers to incentivise healthier food that go beyond soft drinks. We welcome the government’s commitment to introducing mandatory reporting as part of a future Health Standard, and we believe that wider use of levies could also accelerate progress by providing financial incentives to companies in changing their recipes, making it easier for everyone to access healthy food and drinks.”
Dr Kawther Hashem, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and Head of Research and Impact at Action on Salt and Sugar, said: “We welcome today’s announcement and are pleased to see further progress on tackling excessive sugar consumption. Lowering the threshold from 5g to 4.5g per 100ml is a positive step, and expanding the levy to include milk-based drinks is particularly important. Some milkshakes still contain more sugar than a can of full-sugar cola, yet they have been allowed to sit outside a levy specifically designed to reduce high sugar content. Closing this loophole finally ensures that all high-sugar drinks are treated consistently, regardless of their ingredients.
“However, we had hoped the Government would go further. The consultation explored reducing the minimum sugar threshold to 4g, so it’s unclear why this has now risen to 4.5g. Our own submission showed a median sugar content of 4.2g/100ml in soft drinks. We found nearly three-quarters of drinks already fall below 4g/100ml, so today’s decision misses an opportunity to drive further meaningful reformulation. We also called on the Government to create a new upper tier for drinks exceeding 10g of sugar per 100ml, targeting the major brands that have refused to reduce sugar in their high sugar drinks. This would have prevented companies that choose not to reformulate from gaining an unfair advantage over those actively investing in sugar reduction.
“We know the levy works, and when the rules are clear and consistent, manufacturers act fast. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already taken billions of teaspoons of sugar out of the UK diet without holding back industry growth. Today’s move builds on that progress, but if we’re truly committed to improving the nation’s health and the nation’s teeth, we’ll need to be even more ambitious.”
Nikita Sinclair, Head of Children’s Health and Food programme, Impact on Urban Health said: “The government has made a positive step forward in protecting children’s health by extending the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to cover packaged milk-based drinks and continue to move in the right direction by reducing sugar across soft drinks.
We know that many food and drink companies want to do the right thing – this move gives them the opportunity to change to healthier recipes and help create a level playing field for businesses, all while protecting industry growth.
The government should build on the SDIL’s positive impact on health and extend the levy to foods high in salt, sugar and fat. It would also create revenue which could be used to help make healthy, nutritious food the easiest, rather the most difficult, option to access. This could be through further expansion and awareness of the Healthy Start scheme or improving the nutritional quality of school food. At a time when healthy food is increasingly unaffordable, this would give all children the opportunity to access healthier food, no matter where they grow up.”
Dev, Bite Back Youth Activist said: “This is great news from the Government, especially because it finally tackles sugary milkshakes and other milk-based drinks. The amount of sugar in these products has been completely outrageous, and young people like me have been saying it for years. We’re targeted with these drinks everywhere — in supermarkets, on our streets, and across our socials — so this is a really important step. But it can’t stop here. We need this to be part of a bigger package that also strengthens advertising rules online, on TV and outdoors. Big food companies have been given long lead times before and used them to delay and lobby their way out of action. That can’t happen again. Young people will be watching closely.”
Professor Nicola Heslehurst, President of the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO), said: “Today’s announcement builds on a strong body of evidence showing that the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has substantially reduced sugar levels in drinks through reformulation, supporting improvements in children’s health without limiting consumer choice. Extending the levy to sugary milk-based drinks, and aligning the threshold with the latest Nutrient Profiling Model, reflects SACN’s clear advice on free sugars and provides consistency for industry.
Reformulation remains one of the most effective population-wide strategies for reducing excess sugar intake. These changes give manufacturers clarity and sufficient time to adapt, supporting a healthier food environment for children and families.”
Eddie Crouch, Chair at British Dental Association Chair. said:
“The success of this policy won’t be about filling the black hole in the public finances; it will be whether industry will reformulate. Voluntary action here has achieved nothing. But since it rolled out in 2018, the sugar levy has led industry to remove tens of thousands of tonnes of sugar from soft drinks.
“Tooth decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children. This is precisely the time for government to go further and faster with tried and tested policies.”
Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England said:
“After years of campaigning, we welcome the Government’s decision to extend the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to include milk-based drinks and lower the threshold from 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml as a significant victory for public health.
“Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admissions among 5- to 9-year-olds in England, outpacing other illnesses such as acute tonsilitis. Extending the Levy represents a major step towards protecting children’s oral health.
“FDS has consistently called for the threshold to be lowered to 4g of sugar per 100ml. While today’s announcement does not go as far as we recommend, we nevertheless welcome this change and remain hopeful that it will improve the dental and public health of the nation.”
Lynn Perry, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s (observer of the OHA), said:
“Children in the UK are consuming too much sugar and too many are missing out on a balanced diet. This has a hugely negative impact on their health – with tooth decay now the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged five to nine. Today’s announcement is another positive step in the right direction towards creating the healthiest ever generation of children.
“Alongside this, it’s important that we support families living in poverty to improve their access to nutritious food.”
Rob Percival, Head of Food Policy at the Soil Association, said:
“Extending the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to cover more products, including sugary milk-based drinks, is both welcome and overdue. It’s essential that government employs smart fiscal tools to enable healthier diets, especially among children. This commitment should be matched with efforts to ensure that children’s tastes adapt to less sweet foods and drinks, without any increase in artificial sweetener consumption. Additional funding for freshly prepared school meals would be one way that government could achieve this, supporting children to grow up enjoying the tastes and textures of healthy, fresh and whole foods.”
Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Food Foundation said:
“Today’s announcement that the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) is to be strengthened is a welcome step, and acknowledgement of the major public health success SDIL has had to date – it has created a financial incentive for companies to remove tonnes of sugar from soft drinks, while also raising much needed revenue for children’s health. It’s only right the design is strengthened to ensure it is having the maximum impact and that its success continues. Companies should put their consumers health first and introduce changes without delay.
“The government has set out a vision for a new ‘good food cycle’, which will require incentives across the food system that encourage healthier, more sustainable food for everyone. We know sugar comes from a range of food, not just soft drinks, so the government should now be looking to learn from the success of SDIL to date and extend it to food, as part of efforts to grow a strong economy that supports public health, and reset the economic incentives in the food system. This will also help create new revenue that can be invested in addressing key priorities such as child poverty and children’s health.”
Nicola Calder, Food Active Programme Lead, Health Equalities Group:
“We are pleased to see the government have listened to the consultation feedback and committed to strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy by extending this to milk-based products and lowering the sugar threshold.
Measures such as this are needed to support consumers to make healthier choices – and in particular to improve children’s health but the government must go further. We would like to see the levy extended beyond pre-packaged drinks to include those made in the out of home sector such as cafes and restaurants as another step in promoting healthier environments, alongside further levies on less healthy foods.”
Lauren Bowes Byatt, deputy director of healthy life at Nesta, said
“It’s a positive step that milkshakes and more sugary drinks will now be included in the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. It’s a policy that works and it led the way in shifting responsibility from consumers to industry. Widening the policy is a win for children’s health, especially.
“Our blueprint to halve obesity estimates that the extension to milk drinks alone could remove around an additional 2 calories per person per day. That’s still a drop in the ocean in the context of childhood obesity – one in five children in Year 6 are already living with obesity. This is why we need a package of measures, put in place together, to bring down obesity rates.
“Measures like the Healthy Food Standard, which was announced within the 10-Year-Plan for Health, will help us really shift the dial. The HFS has the potential to cut obesity by around 20 per cent – through improving the healthiness of the food we buy in supermarkets.”