London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Public health and a UK single market

Public health and a UK single market

The row could have profound implications for the future of public health measures on food and alcohol. A brief summer-time consultation has brought responses, beyond that of the Scottish government, which are hostile to UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma's plans

The food processing industry and marketers of tobacco and alcohol have good reason to dislike devolved powers in the UK.

Scotland pioneered the indoor smoking ban and minimum unit pricing on alcohol. Others followed.

The Scottish government is keen to move next on food that is high in fat, sugar or salt, though it's paused that legislative process.

At campaign group Alcohol Focus Scotland, there's an ambitious list in the policy shopping basket: a ban on outdoor advertising, and on public transport and social media, an end to drinks company sponsorship of professional sports, music and culture, all backed up by an independent regulatory body.

It's the kind of thing the prime minister used to deride, in his days as a columnist, lambasting the "nanny state" for interfering in individual freedom.

Boris Johnson has changed his tune on obesity, after his brush with mortality in the Covid-19 ward. But his countryfolk in England remain more defiant than others in refusing to kow-tow to instructions on mask-wearing. Individual liberty runs deep in English veins.



So what happens when these different approaches clash? Can the four parts of the UK go their own ways, and at a greater speed after Brexit and the removal of European legal constraints on such market interventions?

Probably not. European law has indeed provided constraints. Without it, the UK government is keen to ensure that divergence does not accelerate - not, at least, so far that it undermines efforts to strike new trade deals as it emerges as "global Britain".

That's at the heart of the proposed UK single market law. On July 16, Alok Sharma, the UK business secretary, issued a consultation paper, claiming this was merely, and innocuously, to ensure that trade remains seamless.

It seemed so innocuous and uncontroversial that the consultation was given less than a month, at the point of the year when people and organisations are least well placed to respond. That door is now closed.

The Welsh government was unimpressed, having had nothing to do with the plans in preparation. "Any new system must have independent oversight and dispute resolution," said a spokesman.

The white paper appears to assume that disputes won't be much of a problem, so no need to specify how they'll be handled.

But the Cardiff position is: "Any attempt to unilaterally impose a system will be deeply damaging."

In Northern Ireland, there's a different issue altogether, as the province is yet to find out how access across the border to the EU single market is to be squared with playing a full part within the UK one.



The Scottish government went much further, saying there was a "power grab". The claim is that policy areas that used to be handled jointly by Holyrood and Brussels would now be shared between Holyrood and Westminster - such as food standards and environmental controls.

To the UK government, the handing of powers from Brussels to Holyrood, as well as Cardiff Bay and Stormont is "a power surge".

But at the same time, it's cautious about opening up divergence within the UK that would make it hard to implement trade deals. If, for instance, Holyrood votes to ban genetically-modified food from Scottish shelves, that could be a stumbling block in trade talks with the US.

And the plan for a single market would require each part of the UK to accept anything that can be sold in another part. In other words, if England chooses to import goods that Scotland or Wales don't want to be publicly available, they'll have to accept them anyway - and vice versa.

The infamous chlorine-washed chicken is something the US wants to export to the UK (it's currently blocked under EU law) but on that, the UK government says it intends to keep a block on the import of food produced with lower animal welfare standards.

Health emergency


So far, so constitutional and politically predictable. The rest is stuff for trade wonks.

But it's not just about goods on the shelves. It's also about the way they're marketed.

Those organisations that campaign on food and drink take the side of the Scottish government, and see this as a worrying potential block on the changes they hope to secure at Holyrood.

It's not just Alcohol Focus Scotland, but an alliance of similar organisations around the UK. As the consultation closed, the Alcohol Health Alliance UK set out its objections to the plan.

They fear that Holyrood and Cardiff Bay will not be able to introduce diverging public health measures unless there is "a public, plant or animal health emergency".

"This would appear to set a very high bar for exceptions… leaving limited scope for protecting public health," says the alliance. "It would seem doubtful that long-term public health issues, such as alcohol misuse, would be considered a public health emergency".

It is common in most trade agreements, they say, for some exceptions to be available to all sides, to protect public health, as well as environmental standards and human rights. But the UK government plans offer no such wriggle room.



At least the minimum unit pricing for alcohol is a done deal, right?

Wrong, they say. There's a sunset clause in the legislation. Holyrood has to come back to back it affirmatively, and any rise in the price level set requires secondary legislation.

Either could trigger renewed legal challenges from the drinks industry using a new UK single market law. The Scotch Whisky Association pursued legal action against minimum unit pricing that delayed its introduction by nearly five years.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: "Scotland has previously shown itself willing to take innovative action to protect public health. This White Paper appears to close the door to such action in future, in order to protect the UK internal market.

"Alcohol Focus Scotland believes these proposals place far too much weight on economic interests at the expense of public health. The equivalent EU internal market arrangements have enabled this balance to be struck for decades, but the UK proposals only allow exceptions in a public health 'emergency'."

Finnie's frameworks


Obesity Action Scotland has clearly been working alongside the alcohol campaign group, with a similar response to the single market plan.

It quotes Professor Nicola McEwan, a constitution expert at Edinburgh University, who wrote: "…if the Scottish Parliament decided to pass a law to limit the sugar content of goods produced in Scotland to tackle the problem of obesity, it could not impose those standards on goods coming into Scotland from other parts of the UK, nor could it prevent those goods from entering the Scottish market, provided these satisfy regulations set anywhere in the UK."

Food Standards Scotland is an independent body, set up by Holyrood statute, and now headed by Ross Finnie. Remember him? For eight years, he was the Liberal Democrat rural affairs minister.

He is also unimpressed, preferring to police food standards by four-country "frameworks" rather than Westminster legislation, and warning against the market being driven by price rather than quality or standards.

The UK government will have to move swiftly if this legislation is to be enacted by the end of 2020. The business department has not told me how many responses it received to this consultation, or when we can expect to hear its conclusions.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×