Unaffordable infant formula price rises
Safeguarding infant health and safety
Unaffordable infant formula price rises: Safeguarding infant health and safety
Recommendations for the UK Government
Families continue to be under growing pressure to afford infant formula and other essentials to support their babies’ early years. The final report of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on the infant and follow on formula market has confirmed that prices have soared and robust interventions are needed to strengthen and properly implement existing marketing rules so that families can be supported to make informed decisions around infant feeding.
The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) has responded to the recommendations to Government in the CMA report and believes that families for whom breastfeeding is not an option, or choose not to breastfeed, must be able to access an affordable and consistent supply of infant formula. Importantly, all first infant formulas are nutritionally equivalent and meet the same legal requirements, so there is no evidence or reason for such variation in cost.
Local support should be available for families struggling to afford formula. While many Local Authorities and Health Boards have options in place, not all families can access these or feel comfortable doing so. Additionally, schemes like Healthy Start are failing to keep pace with inflation and spiralling costs, and don’t reach all parents who need it.
During times of financial difficulty, babies fed with infant formula can become increasingly vulnerable. It is vital that services work together to ensure families at risk are given timely and sensitive support to meet their needs.
Recommendations
1. The UK Government should establish policies and effective and accessible welfare schemes to protect families on a long-term basis against unjustified infant formula price rises, for example by:
- increasing the value of the Healthy Start scheme in England in line with food inflation and widening eligibility of the scheme to support families on Universal Credit or equivalent benefits.
- introducing a price cap on infant formula to bring down prices on a regulated, long-term basis.
2. The UK Government should strengthen UK Law on the marketing of infant formula and breastmilk substitutes by fully adopting the International Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code), thereby committing to protect families by:
- passing, monitoring and enforcing laws to prevent the promotion of infant formula in line with the Code, including prohibiting misleading nutrition and health claims by companies designed to increase brand loyalty and market pricier products as nutritionally superior.
- requesting industry to commit to full compliance with the Code and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions.
3. The UK Government should commit to ensuring that parents can access the basic services they are entitled to. For infant feeding, this would include:
- providing adequate resources and support to Local Authorities and Health Boards to collect data on local need, provision and uptake of services.
- investing in policies and programmes to support infant feeding in every local area.
- ensuring Local Authorities and Health Boards have pathways in place that are easily accessible for families with young children experiencing financial difficulty. See our guidance for Local Authorities and Health Boards on Supporting families with infants under 12 months experiencing food insecurity.
