Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates
Abstract Objective: The UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) (announced in March 2016; implemented in April 2018) aims to incentivise reformulation of soft drinks to reduce added sugar levels. The SDIL has been applauded as a policy success, and it has survived calls from parliamentarians for it to...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Public Health Nutrition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980024000247/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827349705126838272 |
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| author | Catrin P Jones Emma R Lawlor Hannah Forde Dolly RZ van Tulleken Steven Cummins Jean Adams Richard Smith Mike Rayner Harry Rutter Tarra L Penney Olivia Alliot Sofie Armitage Martin White |
| author_facet | Catrin P Jones Emma R Lawlor Hannah Forde Dolly RZ van Tulleken Steven Cummins Jean Adams Richard Smith Mike Rayner Harry Rutter Tarra L Penney Olivia Alliot Sofie Armitage Martin White |
| author_sort | Catrin P Jones |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Abstract
Objective:
The UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) (announced in March 2016; implemented in April 2018) aims to incentivise reformulation of soft drinks to reduce added sugar levels. The SDIL has been applauded as a policy success, and it has survived calls from parliamentarians for it to be repealed. We aimed to explore parliamentary reaction to the SDIL following its announcement until two years post-implementation in order to understand how health policy can become established and resilient to opposition.
Design:
Searches of Hansard for parliamentary debate transcripts that discussed the SDIL retrieved 186 transcripts, with 160 included after screening. Five stages of Applied Thematic Analysis were conducted: familiarisation and creation of initial codebooks; independent second coding; codebook finalisation through team consensus; final coding of the dataset to the complete codebook; and theme finalisation through team consensus.
Setting:
The United Kingdom Parliament
Participants:
N/A
Results:
Between the announcement (16/03/2016) – royal assent (26/04/2017), two themes were identified 1: SDIL welcomed cross-party 2: SDIL a good start but not enough. Between royal assent – implementation (5/04/2018), one theme was identified 3: The SDIL worked – what next? The final theme identified from implementation until 16/03/2020 was 4: Moving on from the SDIL.
Conclusions:
After the announcement, the SDIL had cross-party support and was recognised to have encouraged reformulation prior to implementation. Lessons for governments indicate that the combination of cross-party support and a policy’s documented success in achieving its aim can help cement the resilience of it to opposition and threats of repeal.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:45:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2342f560ed7b43af862127e1ad22a6b4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1368-9800 1475-2727 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:45:51Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj.art-2342f560ed7b43af862127e1ad22a6b42024-02-15T08:09:38ZengCambridge University PressPublic Health Nutrition1368-98001475-27272024-01-012710.1017/S1368980024000247Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debatesCatrin P Jones0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1425-0513Emma R Lawlor1Hannah Forde2Dolly RZ van Tulleken3Steven Cummins4Jean Adams5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5733-7830Richard Smith6Mike Rayner7Harry Rutter8Tarra L Penney9Olivia Alliot10Sofie Armitage11Martin White12MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKPopulation Health Innovation Lab, Department of Public Health, Environments & Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKFaculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UKNuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKDepartment of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, UKGlobal Food System and Policy Research, School of Global Health, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, CanadaMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UKMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK Abstract Objective: The UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) (announced in March 2016; implemented in April 2018) aims to incentivise reformulation of soft drinks to reduce added sugar levels. The SDIL has been applauded as a policy success, and it has survived calls from parliamentarians for it to be repealed. We aimed to explore parliamentary reaction to the SDIL following its announcement until two years post-implementation in order to understand how health policy can become established and resilient to opposition. Design: Searches of Hansard for parliamentary debate transcripts that discussed the SDIL retrieved 186 transcripts, with 160 included after screening. Five stages of Applied Thematic Analysis were conducted: familiarisation and creation of initial codebooks; independent second coding; codebook finalisation through team consensus; final coding of the dataset to the complete codebook; and theme finalisation through team consensus. Setting: The United Kingdom Parliament Participants: N/A Results: Between the announcement (16/03/2016) – royal assent (26/04/2017), two themes were identified 1: SDIL welcomed cross-party 2: SDIL a good start but not enough. Between royal assent – implementation (5/04/2018), one theme was identified 3: The SDIL worked – what next? The final theme identified from implementation until 16/03/2020 was 4: Moving on from the SDIL. Conclusions: After the announcement, the SDIL had cross-party support and was recognised to have encouraged reformulation prior to implementation. Lessons for governments indicate that the combination of cross-party support and a policy’s documented success in achieving its aim can help cement the resilience of it to opposition and threats of repeal. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980024000247/type/journal_articleGovernmentParliamentPolitical debateSugar taxSoft Drinks Industry LevyHealth policy |
| spellingShingle | Catrin P Jones Emma R Lawlor Hannah Forde Dolly RZ van Tulleken Steven Cummins Jean Adams Richard Smith Mike Rayner Harry Rutter Tarra L Penney Olivia Alliot Sofie Armitage Martin White Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates Public Health Nutrition Government Parliament Political debate Sugar tax Soft Drinks Industry Levy Health policy |
| title | Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates |
| title_full | Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates |
| title_fullStr | Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates |
| title_short | Parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: applied thematic analysis of 2016–2020 parliamentary debates |
| title_sort | parliamentary reaction to the announcement and implementation of the uk soft drinks industry levy applied thematic analysis of 2016 2020 parliamentary debates |
| topic | Government Parliament Political debate Sugar tax Soft Drinks Industry Levy Health policy |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980024000247/type/journal_article |
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