Wes Streeting has suggested he is confident the government will now win a crunch vote on welfare cuts after Sir Keir Starmer made a number of concessions to prevent a damaging rebellion.

The health secretary told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips the alterations to the controversial welfare bill meant those in receipt of benefits now had “peace of mind”.

Asked whether he was confident the government would now win a vote on the reforms scheduled for Tuesday, Mr Streeting said: “Yes.

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“I think the changes that were made this week have put us in a much better position, not just on the vote on Tuesday, but on the substance of the package – because as a result of the changes, it means anyone watching this morning who’s in receipt of PIP, Personal Independence Payments, now has the peace of mind of knowing that their situation is protected.”

It comes after the prime minister carried out the most significant U-turn of his premiership at the end of the week in order to quell a growing rebellion over his welfare package.

More than 120 Labour MPs had signalled they were prepared to vote down the bill next week after they signed an amendment that would have stopped its progress through parliament – citing concerns about the impact on the most vulnerable and the lack of proper consultation with disabled groups.

The scale of the rebellion – and the fact it spanned all wings of the party – alarmed Downing Street and led to Sir Keir making a number of changes to diffuse the anger.

Originally, the bill set out to tighten the eligibility criteria for PIP – money that is given to people, some of whom are in work, who have extra care or mobility needs as a result of a disability.

People who claim it are awarded points depending on their ability to do certain activities, such as washing and preparing food, which influences how much they will receive.

Currently claimants need to score a minimum of eight points across a range of tasks to qualify for the daily living element (there is a mobility element that is not affected by the plans). Under the new rules people will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one activity to qualify.

However, the changes made by Sir Keir mean existing PIP claimants will now be exempted from the stricter new criteria.

Alterations to Universal Credit, another type of benefit, mean that the health top-up will only be cut and frozen for new applications, as opposed to existing ones.

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Mr Streeting declined to say whether he thought those who decide to vote against the bill should lose the party whip, which would force them to sit as an independent MP in the Commons.

He said it was “not my decision”, but added that there was an “expectation that Labour MPs vote for the whip”.

In a series of interviews over the weekend, the prime minister acknowledged there had been some mishandling of the welfare debate and said he was “heavily focused” on world affairs before he was forced to U-turn on his welfare bill.

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.

“Getting it right is more important than ploughing on with a package which doesn’t necessarily achieve the desired outcome,” he said, adding that all the decisions made were his and that “I take ownership of them”.

The health secretary has told Sky News the government’s plans to tackle obesity by introducing a health food standard for supermarkets are a “world-first approach” and not “nanny statism”.

As part of an initiative aimed at taking some pressure off the NHS, food retailers and manufacturers will “make the healthy choice the easy choice” for customers in the UK, which has 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, suggested Nesta, the innovation agency which initially developed the policy.

Speaking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Wes Streeting said: “Instead of traditional nanny statism, where we regulate more heavily on price or marketing on what’s sold, we’re taking a world-first approach, which is working with supermarkets using data they already collect about the nutritional value of their shopping baskets and shopping trolleys, the average shop.

“We’re going to work with them to reduce the amount of unhealthy food in trolleys and baskets by setting targets on the healthy value of your shopping trolleys and baskets.”

He said if obese people cut their calorie intake “by about 216 calories a day – the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy coke, we’d halve obesity”.

“We’ve got one in five kids leaving primary school with obesity, it’s costing the NHS £11bn a year, and obesity has doubled since the 1990s,” he added.

He also said: “If we reduce calorie intake in this country by just 50 calories a day, that would lift 340,000 children out of obesity.”

Mr Streeting said supermarkets will decide through the combination of where they put their products, how they do price promotions, and what products they choose to put on the shelves.

“They will work with us to make sure that we nudge people in the right direction, without any of us even noticing,” he added.

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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.

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.”

A former Tory minister has referred himself to the parliamentary watchdog following allegations he was paid by a company that helped him write questions to government.

George Freeman, the MP for Norfolk, is reported by The Times to have submitted queries to Labour ministers about the sector the firm operates in.

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The newspaper published what it said were leaked emails that showed exchanges in which Mr Freeman had asked the company’s director what to ask about as he prepared written parliamentary questions related to space data and emissions tracking.

Written parliamentary questions can be tabled by any MP and are a common way of requesting more information from a minister in a certain department.

Mr Freeman, who reportedly tabled the questions to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, became a paid adviser with GHGSat, a monitoring service for greenhouse gas emissions, in April last year.

The appointments watchdog Acoba advised him that in taking up the role, “there are risks associated with your influence and network of contacts gained whilst in ministerial office”.

“In particular, this is a company that is interested in government policy and decisions relating to the civil space sector and emissions,” the watchdog said.

“You noted you have made it clear to the company that you will not lobby government on its behalf, and this will not form part of your role.”

In a statement, Mr Freeman said he did not believe he had done “anything wrong” but that he was referring himself to the standards commissioner.

“As a longstanding advocate of important new technologies, companies and industries, working cross-party through APPGs and the select committee, I regularly ask experts for clarification on technical points and terminology, and deeply respect and try to assiduously follow the code of conduct for MPs and the need to act always in the public interest,” he said.

“Throughout my 15 years in parliament (and government) I have always understood the need to be transparent in the work I have done for and with commercial clients and charities and am always willing to answer any criticism.

“I don’t believe I have done anything wrong but I am immediately referring myself to the parliamentary commissioner for standards and will accept his judgment in due course.”

He added: “I am very concerned at the unauthorised and targeted access to my emails and diary which I have raised with the police and parliamentary authorities.”

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “George Freeman MP has referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

“It would be inappropriate for the Conservative Party to comment further whilst the commissioner’s inquiries are ongoing.”

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The Lib Dems and Labour called on Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to suspend him, saying the incident bore a resemblance to the cash for questions scandal that engulfed John Major’s leadership in the 1990s.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Cash for questions was a hallmark of Tory sleaze in the 1990s, and three decades on the same issue has raised its head again.

“George Freeman has referred himself for investigation so now Kemi Badenoch must suspend him from the Tory whip.”

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper added: “This looks like the same old sleaze and scandal people have come to expect from the Conservative Party.

“Kemi Badenoch should immediately suspend the whip from George Freeman while this is investigated.

“Failure to act would confirm that even after being booted out of government, the Conservatives are still hopelessly out of touch.”