A healthy food standard will be introduced for supermarkets and other retailers as part of government plans to tackle obesity levels in the UK.

As part of a government initiative aimed at taking some pressure off the NHS, food retailers and manufacturers will “make the healthy choice the easy choice” for customers in a country with the third highest adult obesity levels in Europe.

Supermarkets will be required to report sales data and those that fail to hit targets could face financial penalties, Nesta, the innovation agency which initially developed the policy, suggested.

Businesses will be free to choose how to implement the new healthy food standard, which aims to make their customers’ average shopping healthier.

Measures could include reformulating products and tweaking recipes, changing shop layouts, offering discounts on healthy foods, or changing loyalty schemes to promote healthier options.

Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The new scheme, announced on Sunday by the Department for Health and Social Care, is part of the forthcoming 10 Year Health Plan, through which the government is seeking to shift from sickness to prevention to alleviate the burden on the NHS.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11bn a year, triple the budget for ambulance services. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable.

“The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day – the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink – obesity would be halved.

“This government’s ambition for kids today is for them to be part of the healthiest generation of children ever.

“That is within our grasp. With the smart steps we’re taking today, we can give every child a healthy start to life.”

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Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “It is vital for the nation that the food industry delivers healthy food, that is available, affordable and appealing.”

An ‘important step’

Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “Businesses can play a major role in supporting people to make healthy choices, and this important step could help to reduce rising obesity rates.

“Being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK, and is linked with 13 different types of the disease.

“The UK government must introduce further bold preventative policies in both the upcoming 10-year health plan and National Cancer Plan, so that more lives can be saved from cancer.”

Some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets appear to have reacted positively to plans for a new standard of healthy food, with Ken Murphy, Tesco Group CEO, saying: “All food businesses have a critical part to play in providing good quality, affordable and healthy food.

“At Tesco, we have measured and published our own healthier food sales for a number of years now – we believe it is key to more evidence-led policy and better-targeted health interventions.

“That’s why we have called for mandatory reporting for all supermarkets and major food businesses and why we welcome the government’s announcement on this.

“We look forward to working with them on the detail of the Healthy Food Standard and its implementation by all relevant food businesses.”

Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re passionate about making good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone and have been championing the need for mandatory health reporting, across the food industry for many years.

“Today’s announcement from government is an important and positive step forward in helping the nation to eat well.

“We need a level playing field across the entirety of our food sector for these actions to have a real and lasting impact.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting will be appearing on today’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips show – watch on Sky News from 8.30am.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he was “heavily focused” on world affairs before he was forced to U-turn on his welfare bill after rebellion by MPs.

In a piece in The Sunday Times, Sir Keir said he was occupied with the G7 and NATO summits and the escalating tensions in the Middle East for much of the past two weeks.

His “full attention really bore down” on the welfare bill on Thursday, he added.

It comes after the government was forced to U-turn on plans to cut sickness and disability benefits after significant rebellion by Labour MPs earlier this week.

The government has since offered concessions ahead of a vote in the Commons on Tuesday, including exempting existing Personal Independence Payment claimants (PIP) from the stricter new criteria, while the universal credit health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications.

Sir Keir defended the U-turn by saying: “Getting it right is more important than ploughing on with a package which doesn’t necessarily achieve the desired outcome.”

He said all the decisions were his and that “I take ownership of them”.

There have been reports that rebel MPs blamed Sir Keir’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney for the government’s approach.

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Sir Keir said: “My rule of leadership is, when things go well you get the plaudits; when things don’t go well you carry the can.

“I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this government. I do not talk about staff and I’d much prefer it if everybody else didn’t.”

Sir Keir said on Saturday that fixing the UK’s welfare system is a “moral imperative”.

Speaking at Welsh Labour’s annual conference in Llandudno, North Wales, Sir Keir said: “Everyone agrees that our welfare system is broken, failing people every day.

“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way, conference, and we will.”

NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that “don’t listen” penalised with less money.

As part of the “10 Year Health Plan” to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received – and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not.

It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients “not being listened to”, the government said.

This will create a “powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients’ experience”, it added.

Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff.

NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new ‘Year of Care Payments’ initiative and the government’s wider plan for change.

Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial.

He told the newspaper: “Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix.”

He said that NHS leaders would be keen to “understand more about the proposal”, because elements were “concerning”.

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change.”

In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England – known as quangos – will be scrapped.

These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian’s Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).

The head of the Royal College of Nursing described the move as “so unsafe for patients right now”.

Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Today, in hospitals across the NHS, we know one nurse can be left caring for 10, 15 or more patients at a time. It’s not safe. It’s not effective. And it’s not acceptable.

“For these proposed changes to be effective, government must take ownership of the real issue, the staffing crisis on our wards, and not just shuffle people into new roles. Protecting patients has to be the priority and not just a drive for efficiency.”

Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear “built to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.

“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scrambles every morning.”