Overview
- Wes Streeting told MPs the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will now cover pre-packaged milk-based drinks, including flavoured milk, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk and ready-to-drink coffees.
- Open-cup beverages made in cafes, restaurants and bars remain excluded, while plain milk and unsweetened plant-based drinks are not in scope.
- The lower sugar threshold is intended to bring more products into the levy and drive reformulation by manufacturers.
- Ministers signalled a lactose allowance to reflect naturally occurring milk sugars and the removal of exemptions for milk substitutes that contain added sugars.
- Officials frame the move as a public-health measure following a reported 46% reduction in sugar in affected soft drinks since 2018, though some outlets report higher revenue projections than the government’s £40m–£45m estimate.