Action will be taken on how infant formula is displayed and advertised after the watchdog found families were buying more expensive products due to unfounded claims about quality
Keir Starmer has announced plans to help parents save money on baby formula ahead of a long-awaited child poverty strategy this week.
The Prime Minister promised a crackdown on how infant formula is displayed and advertised after the competition watchdog found families were being persuaded into buying more expensive products due to unfounded claims about quality. The crackdown comes after the Competition and Markets Authority found the price of a pack of powered cow’s milk based infant formula rose by 25% between March 2021 and April 2023.
The CMA many parents choose a more expensive product, assuming this means better quality for their baby. But NHS advice says that by law, all infant formula sold in the UK must meet the same standards.
Supermarkets and retailers will be ordered to allow products to be bought using gift cards, vouchers, loyalty points, and coupons. Ministers are considering further support on enforcement on how these products are marketed.
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The PM said: “For too long, parents have been pushed into spending more on infant formula than needed – told they’re paying for better quality and left hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
“We are changing that. I can announce to the House how we will save money for parents – helping parents make more informed choices when buying infant formula With new, clear rules for retailers, helping new parents use loyalty points and vouchers, we will save them up to £500 before their child’s first birthday.
“That builds on our action to lift over half a million children out of poverty, extending free school meals, free breakfast clubs and free childcare. And in our Child Poverty Strategy, published later this week, Labour will go further to give every child the best start in life.”
The centrepiece of the strategy to drive down child poverty is the decision to axe the two-child benefit limit from April, which Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget last week. The move is expected to lift an estimated 450,000 kids out of hardship by the end of this Parliament.
Additional measures to ease the burden on hard-pressed families are expected to be unveiled in the blueprint later this week.