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2025-04-30-accounts

Charity registration number 1098818

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Trustees Professor Peter Sever Professor Malcolm Law Professor Feng He Dr Pauline Swift (Appointed 22 October 2025) Katharine H Boyd (Appointed 22 October 2025) Charity number 1098818 Principal address Wolfson Institute of Population Health Queen Mary University of London Charterhouse Square London EC1M 6BQ Independent examiner TC Group Star House Star Hill Rochester Kent ME1 1UX Bankers Lloyds Bank Plc London W6 9HW

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

CONTENTS

Page
Trustees' report 1 - 23
Independent examiner's report 24
Statement of financial activities 25
Statement of financial position 26
Notes to the financial statements 27 - 35

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

TRUSTEES' REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2025.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Constitution

The charity is constituted under a Memorandum of Association dated 16 July 2014. The charity number is 1098818.

Method of appointment or election of Trustees

The management of the charity is the responsibility of the Trustees, who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Memorandum of Association. The Trustees meet regularly (at least annually). New Trustees may be appointed on the recommendation of the Board or following proper notice of nomination by an existing Trustee. Trustees may also be recruited via the charity’s website and by advertising in relevant publications. A minimum of three Trustees shall remain in office at any given time; there is no maximum limit.

Policies adopted for the induction and training of Trustees

New prospective Trustees are invited to meet the staff and receive an introduction to the charity’s work, governance and policies. They are included on the CASSH’s governance mailing list and receive regular updates from staff.

Organisational structure and decision making

The Board of Trustees are responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the charity. Day-to-day management and administration are delegated to the Campaign Leads, who ensure the charity is run efficiently and in line with the Board’s strategy and policies.

Risk management

The Trustees periodically examine the major risks to which the charity is exposed, concentrating on areas of potential highest impact including:

Risks are recorded on a risk register with named leads and mitigating actions. The register and the risk policy are reviewed and updated for Trustee meetings. The Trustees are satisfied that appropriate systems are in place to manage the major risks identified.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Constitutional policies and objectives

The charity's objects ("the objects") are:

There have been no changes in these objects since the last annual report.

Public benefit

The Trustees confirm they have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in planning the charity’s activities.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

The activities and performance are detailed in the annual report on pages 4 to 22.

INVESTMENT POLICY AND PERFORMANCE

The Trustees are empowered by the Memorandum of Association to invest the funds not required for immediate working purposes in such a manner as may be thought fit. During the year, the Trustees invested such funds in interest-bearing deposit accounts earning returns at commercial rates of interest.

Financial review

Income in 2024/25 comprised of research, project funding and professional services, alongside the final tranche of a closing grant. This, coupled with reduced overheads, has resulted in a net surplus of £6,076 at year end. The Trustees have reviewed the charity’s financial position, forecasts and reserves policy and consider it appropriate to prepare the accounts on a going-concern basis. No remedial actions are required at this time. The Board’s primary operational focus for the coming year (2025/26) is to strengthen fundraising and income diversification, including renewal of key grants and development of new philanthropic and partnership opportunities.

Funds income:

The charity receives funding from different sources, including research grants, donations from Trusts, donations from individuals generally and interest from fixed term deposits. 2024/2025 has seen success in small funding bids, and we expect to be able to ensure greater security in future years.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Funds expended:

Team costs, which are paid directly to Queen Mary University of London, are the charity’s primary investment and are essential for the continuation of the work for public benefit. Total expenditure for the year was £137,698.00, lower than the prior year due to reduced staffing. In other areas, our spending was broadly in line with previous years, as the charity maintained its commitment to deliver services to its beneficiaries. Only unrestricted funds were received during the year, therefore the charity opened the year with no restricted fund carried forward and closed the year with only unrestricted fund balances carried forward.

Sources of funding:

Funding was achieved in 2024/2025 through a number of different sources;

RESERVES POLICY

At year end, the charity held total reserves of £472,447, an increase of £6,076 on 2023/24. The Trustees’ policy is to maintain unrestricted reserves (including any designated funds, reviewed annually) at a minimum of two years’ operating costs to safeguard mission-critical activities, absorb unforeseen shocks and enable strategic investment. Based on 2024/25 expenditure of £137,698.00, the minimum target level is £275,396.00. Current reserves therefore sit £197,051.00 above this minimum. The Board will keep the level and any designation of reserves under regular review in light of the charity’s risk profile, pipeline and financial forecasts.

ANNUAL REPORT May 2024- April 2025 Action on Sail & Sugar

About Us

Action on Salt and Sugar is a registered charity dedicated to reducing dietary salt, sugar and calorie consumption to improve the health of populations in the UK and worldwide.

The charity is successfully working to reach a consensus with the food industry and the government over the harmful effects of a high salt and sugar diet and bring about a reduction in the amount of salt and sugar added to processed foods and drinks as well as salt added to cooking, and the table. We aim to create sustainable policies and systems that enable reduced free sugars and salt intake.

Action on Salt and Sugar provides resources and expert advice to enable the development and implementation of salt, sugar and calorie reduction programmes UK and worldwide.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Contents

Contents
Foreword 4
Monitoring Reformulation 5
Collaborations 10
Our Research 13
Policy 15
Funding Partners and Collaborations 19

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Foreword

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 22nd Annual Report from Action on Salt & Sugar.

This past year has reinforced what we’ve long known: the evidence for transforming our food environment is stronger than ever, yet political action continues to lag behind. In June 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe’s landmark report on the ‘Commercial Determinants of Noncommunicable Diseases’ laid bare the toll of harmful industries - tobacco, ultra-processed food, fossil fuels, and alcohol - causing 2.7 million deaths annually in Europe alone, equivalent to 34% of all deaths. With the UK ushering in a new Labour government in July 2024, the first in over a decade, this should have ignited the political will needed for the UK’s new leadership to drive meaningful change, particularly in areas where the UK once led the world, such as salt reduction.

Over the months that followed, multiple reports echoed the same urgent message. Lord Darzi’s independent NHS review called for far greater emphasis on prevention. The House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee’s ‘Recipe for Health: A Plan to Fix our Broken Food System’ report laid out a clear comprehensive, integrated and long-term strategy to fix our broken food system, placing the food industry at the centre of responsibility, including salt and sugar reformulation taxes and mandatory report for large food businesses on the healthiness of their sales.

It is important to recognise some positive policy developments over the past year, such as the finalisation of restrictions on unhealthy food advertising before 9pm, the uprating of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, and the launch of consultations to strengthen the levy further. These actions alone however, are not enough. They represent important steps in the right direction, but fall short of delivering the comprehensive, system-wide change needed to create a healthier, more equitable food environment. To meaningfully reduce diet-related ill health, we need a far more ambitious and coordinated approach from government. The ‘Nourishing Britain’ report identified systemic barriers that still remain unresolved - industry lobbying, departmental fragmentation, and policy inconsistency continue to undermine progress.

As this report reflects, we remain committed to holding government and industry accountable, pushing for stronger, joined-up action to create a healthier, fairer food environment for all. With growing momentum and public support, the time for bold, coordinated policy is now.

Professor Graham MacGregor Chairman of Action on Salt and Sugar

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Monitoring Reformulation

Our mission is to gradually lower UK salt and sugar intake to below the recommended levels with a focus on encouraging the reformulation of processed food and drink products and the products served in the out of home (OOH) sector. Our campaigns put pressure on the food industry so we can create a healthier food environment by shifting the balance; reducing products higher in salt and sugar; and increasing the number of healthier products available.

May 2024 | Salt Awareness Week

Marking our 24th Salt Awareness Week, we shined a much-needed spotlight back on salt .

Regularly eating too much salt can increase our risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks, the two biggest causes of death worldwide. But many people are unaware of the potential risk this is causing to their health, with 5 million people unknowingly living with high blood pressure in the UK.

Reducing salt in our diets is one of the quickest and most effective ways to reduce our blood pressure and improve our health. What we don’t often realise is just how much salt we are eating because most of the salt is already in the food we buy.

Over the course of the week, we brought the spotlight back on salt and highlighted how the salt present in everyday foods really add up.

Report: Are Children’s Meals Worth Their Salt?

How salty we like our food is a learned preference, meaning we can become accustomed to the salty taste of foods being made available to us, but equally, it means we can adjust our taste buds to enjoy a low salt diet. To prevent children from developing a taste for salt in the first place, it is important to reduce the salt content in children’s meals.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

The nutrition content of children’s meals had not been reviewed comprehensively by Action on Salt since 2019. The aim of this report was to assess progress made by the OOH sector in meeting the 2024 salt reduction targets, highlight successful case studies of where salt content had been reduced successfully, and assess the progress made by the OOH sector in children’s meals since 2019.

Findings:

Access and Transparency

Nutrition

Salt Reformulation

Read the full ‘Are Children’s Meals Worth Their Salt’ report.

Industry Comments:

We received 12 industry responses:

ASK Italian – Promised to review the salt levels in their pizzas.

Beefeater – Confirmed they are working through their children’s nutrition policy.

KFC – Removed gravy as an optional side, which was the saltiest side available in their kids’ meal offering Las Iguanas – Removed their two higher salt side dishes (Broccoli, which contained 2.2g and baked beans, which contained 0.8g).

Call to Action: Following the report, we called for clearer labelling on children’s menus and mandatory salt reduction targets across all food sectors, including OOH.

Webinar: Tackling Childhood Obesity: Shifting Behaviours to Tackle the UK’s Public Health Crisis

Our Policy, Public Affairs and International Lead spoke at a Public Policy Exchange event which examined childhood obesity trends in the UK, current policy areas, the role taxation can play in shifting dietary behaviour and more.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

August 2024 | Healthiness in the UK Out Of Home Sector

Unlike packaged foods, reporting on health and nutrition in the OOH sector is scarce and inconsistent. Mandatory calorie labelling for large businesses came into force in 2022, but little more nutrition information is usually provided at point of choice. This lack of nutrition information makes it difficult to set standards for product healthiness in the sector and independently monitor any progress made.

Our report, funded by ShareAction and with contributions from Obesity Health Alliance and Bite Back, called for greater transparency in the sector, and recommended a combination of metrics, which looked at both nutrient balance and applied category-specific caps for the amount of calories, salt and sugar contained in a product to assess the healthiness of food and drink brought OOH, in order to account for the excessive portion sizes often provided in this sector.

Using this approach, a sizeable share of the products currently dominating the UK OOH market were found to be less healthy.

As a first step, we recommended the OOH industry to provide sufficient and consistent information about the products they sell, which would bring them in line with the rest of the food sector.

Read the full ‘Healthiness in the OOH Sector’ report.

November 2024 | Sugar Awareness Week

During Sugar Awareness Week, we focused on the main sources of sugars in children’s diets as we continued our call on the food industry to reduce the sugar in their products

It will be no surprise that in the UK, most children are eating too much ‘free sugars’; sugars added to food or drinks at home, by chefs or manufacturers, in whatever form; honey, syrups, juices and smoothies.

An overconsumption of ‘free sugars’ can contribute a significant amount of nutritionally poor calories to a diet, increasing the risk of overweight and obesity, and various related diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

Regular consumption of ‘free sugars’ also increases the risk of developing dental caries, which are entirely preventable, and cause children unnecessary pain and suffering, and impacting their school attendance and performance.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Cakes and buns, biscuits, fruit juices, soft drinks, sweet spreads and preserves, as well as sugar and chocolate confectionery are the main sources of sugar in children’s diets. Children and parents are bombarded with sugary snacks wherever they go, often with misleading claims, so it is easy to get used to the sweet taste of food from a young age, influencing future health.

Therefore, for Sugar Awareness Week, we highlighted the importance of reducing free sugars consumption in the UK population.

Report: Cakes, Chocolate and Biscuits

Cakes, chocolate confectionery, and biscuits remain major contributors to high sugar intake among children – and with limited success from the government’s voluntary Sugar Reduction Programme – Action on Sugar surveyed individually packaged or portioned sweet snacks.

Findings:

Call to Action:

Read the full ‘Cakes, Chocolate and Biscuits’ Sugar Awareness Week report.

March 2025 | Crisps, Nuts and Popcorn: Opportunities for Reformulation

This report analysed over 1,200 crisps, nuts, and popcorn products and revealed how a majority of products are still failing to meet the government's criteria for healthier foods, raising the alarm ahead of the TV and online advertising restrictions.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

The wide variation in nutrition content revealed that in many cases such products could be made healthier and much more still needs to be done to level the industry playing field. Findings showed:

Read the full ‘Crisps, Nuts and Popcorn: Opportunities for Reformulation’ report.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Collaborations

Throughout the year we have collaborated with several organisations to help deliver outstanding reports on a range of issues. Such collaboration allows us to build and share our strengths whilst working along other colleagues with a diverse range of skills to build on the evidence at hand and create innovative and practical solutions for the government and food industry.

Reports

May 2024 | Bite Back Report: Sweet Deception – Are Food Giants Using Child-Appealing Tactics Responsibly?

Action on Salt and Sugar peer-reviewed the child-appeal and nutrition analysis of Bite Back’s report, published in May 2024. The report looked at the front of packaging of foods produced by the 10 leading food and drink businesses, highlighting how many of their products that use childappealing packaging are unhealthy.

May 2024 – April 2025 | Strengthening Salt Reduction Policy for Malaysia through Maximum Salt Targets

Through our continued collaboration with colleagues at the University Kebangsan Malaysia, with support from Resolve to Save Lives, we have been working to advance salt reduction efforts through the development of maximum salt targets across 14 key food categories. Using a stepwise, evidence-based approach, the project combines quantitative market surveys and qualitative stakeholder interviews to inform policy design. Our team is providing technical and programme management support, drawing on our global network to support international benchmarking. This project reflects an integrated effort across research, policy and industry engagement to build a healthier food environment in Malaysia.

January 2025 | The Food Foundation Broken Plate Report 2025

The Food Foundation released their 2025 Broken Plate Report, including analysis from Action on Salt and Sugar. We looked at the sugar content of breakfast cereals and yogurts marketed to children, and the nutritional claims of baby and toddler snacks. The findings highlight the vast health inequalities across the UK as a result of more expensive, less accessible healthy foods, and is a stark reminder that more must be done to improve diet and health.

January 2025 – September 2025 | Queen Mary Impact Fund

Our team was awarded funding in November 2024 from Queen Mary University of London’s Impact Fund for the project “Healthier dining: co-creating innovative solutions for nutrition standards compliance in the UK OOH food and drink sector”.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

The aim of the project is to produce a tool or service that would encourage OOH businesses to better comply with governmental nutrition standards. As part of the project, the team have interviewed a range of stakeholders from large OOH businesses to better understand their motivation and barriers towards fully complying with nutrition standards such as salt and sugar reduction targets and the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM).

February 2025 | Recipe for Change Report: Incentivising Reformulation

The Recipe for Change coaltion, of which Action on Salt and Sugar as a partner, released ‘Incentivising Reformulation: The Case for Fiscal Levers to Strengthen the UK’s Reformulation Programmes’, detailing the significant range of salt and sugar across food categories. Using our research findings, the briefing highlights the potential areas for further reformulation and demonstrates how fiscal levers are fundamental to ensure reformulation happens across the board. It presents the rationale for extending the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to food and supports key policymakers and stakeholders to understand and apply food levies.

March 2025 | Share Action Investor Briefing: Putting Health Back on the Menu

Share Action’s report uses Action on Salt and Sugar research findings to provide clear risk assessment direction to OOH investors. With the OOH sector increasingly shaping UK diets, consumers are exposed to foods high in fat, salt and sugars daily, and as such sustained investor engagement with the food industry is vital to ensure explicit health disclosure and enable healthier food choices.

April 2025 | Food Foundation ‘Boosting Early Years Nutrition to Support a Healthy Childhood’

Action on Salt and Sugar analysed the packaging of 113 baby and toddler snack products, covering more than 2,000 individual claims. This research was pre-released ahead of the report in ’ response to the BBC Panorama ‘The Truth About Baby Food Pouches .

Our research found there was an average of 20 promotional claims per product, including nutrition, composition and health claims. The product with the highest number of claims per packaging had 43 claims., and the most common claims related to “natural” ingredients and perceived healthfulness. Despite these products declaring a high number of different claims that perceive the products to be healthy, 20% of products contained high levels of sugar, and 50% had medium levels, as defined by government front-of pack labelling guidance.

Read the ‘Boosting Early Years Nutrition to Support a Healthy Childhood’ report.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Events

Amongst several pieces of data analysis and reports, we have attended a range of events. In October 2024, we attended the re-launch of Recipe for Change , a campaign we, alongside 5 other NGOs are collaborating on to advocate for salt and sugar levies on food. We also attended the Obesity Policy Research Forum launch and a UPF roundtable with other NGOs hosted by the Soil Association to agree media lines for the Lords Inquiry. We hosted visitors from the Ministry of Health Malaysia at Queen Mary University of London to discuss ongoing salt reduction projects.

In November 2024, we contributed to a Food Matters Live panel discussion at an industry conference in Ascot. We discussed Healthy Ageing, how reducing salt in products, including use of potassium chloride, can reduce cardiovascular disease, and the challenges of academia-industry engagement. We met the Dietary Improvement team at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities to talk about expected directions of the new government on nutritional guidelines of commercial infant foods, salt and sugar reduction and dietary surveys. We attended several other events in November including ‘‘UltraProcessed’ Foods: the Scope for Government Action” conference in Imperial ; a Parliamentary event hosted by the Food and Drink Federation ; the launch of the House of Lords Food Diet and Obesity Report ; and took part in a panel discussion for Queen Mary University of London Wolfson Institute of Public Health Research seminar series on policymakers and their information needs.

Sustain’s Children’s Food Summit took place in February 2025 where we put forward a question about fiscal policies as part of the panel discussion with MPs.

As part of our ongoing engagement with industry and ahead of our forthcoming report on snacks, we held various meetings and engagement activities with 11 businesses to apply pressure on the food industry and provide viable solutions for salt reformulation.

We also attended the Tackling Childhood Obesity: Prevention, Education, and Policy by Public Policy Exchange ; and a stakeholder discussion on the potential of food taxes for improving UK diets. This discussion was organised by three NIHR research projects, FINCH (led by Imperial College Business School), COPPER (led by University of Oxford and University of Exeter) and HealthEI (led by University of Sheffield). Each of the projects are currently exploring different food tax scenarios and the potential to use these as a lever for dietary shifts to improve population and planetary health.

We were also invited to present our research input for a roundtable at the House of Lords, ‘Aligning Next Steps on HFSS Reformulation Levy ’, joining alongside think tanks such as the Tony Blair Institute and Institute for Public Policy Research. As part of the Early Year Nutrition and Data Coalition , we supported and gave input to Bremner & Co and Impact on Urban Health on their consultation response to improving the way Ofsted inspects education relating to improving food and nutrition and health equity.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Our Research

We continue to strengthen the research around salt and sugar reformulation through a variety of outputs, from the reports we launch alongside campaigns, to presenting at events and publishing research papers.

Our research this year included the comparison of the soft drinks industry levy to the sugar reduction programme, presenting key lessons from them both; and we confirmed that by halving salt intake, it can significantly lower the blood pressure of individuals that already have high blood pressure and taking treatment.

Our researchers also concluded that formula-estimated sodium intakes were not recommended to be used in studies associating sodium intake with CVD outcomes to avoid generating misleading evidence. This highlighted the importance of reducing global sodium intake; and evaluated the effectiveness of the mHealth- and School-Based Health Education Program for Salt Reduction (EduSaltS) in China.

October 2024 | WHO Regional Expert Meeting of Nutrition Policies

In October 2024, we presented at the World Health Organization's Regional Expert Meeting of Nutrition Policies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia.

This meeting explored the role of NGOs in supporting salt and sugar reduction within government policies and emphasised the importance of continued collaboration. Moving forward, this dialogue will help inform our strategies for global obesity prevention and the promotion of healthier diets.

January 2025 | The Nutrition Society 2025 Winter Conference

In January, we presented our study on breakfast cereals with childappealing packaging, and highlighted the potential improvements and further reformulation that is needed as many popular cereal brands continue to contain excessive sugar and low fibre. The study emphasised the vital policy shift that’s required if we are to create a level playing field and improve children’s diet and health.

Sugar

March.

Hashem K, Burt H, Brown M, MacGregor G. Outcomes of sugar reduction policies, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2024 Mar 27;102(6):432-439.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Salt

September.

Song J, Chen L, Xiong H, Ma Y, Pombo-Rodrigues S, MacGregor G, He F. Blood Pressure-Lowering Medications, Sodium Reduction, and Blood Pressure. AHA|ASA Journals. Hypertension. 2024 Sept;81:e149-e160.

November.

Tan, M. Mandatory salt targets: a key policy tool for global salt reduction efforts. The Lancet Public Health. 2024 Nov. 9;11, E834-E835.

March.

Egan B, Lackland D, Sutherland S, Rakotz M, Williams J, Commodore-Mensah Y, Jones D, Kjeldsen S-E, Campbell N, Parati G, He F, – MacGregor G, Weber M, Whelton P. Perspective The growing global benefits of limiting salt intake: an urgent call from the World Hypertension League for more effective policy and public health initiatives. J Hum Hypertens. 2025 March 39, 241245.

January.

May.

Wang N, Wang C, Zhang P, Li Y, He FJ, Li L, Li Y, Luo R, Wan D, Xu L, Deng L, Wu L. Effectiveness of an mHealth and school-based health education programme for salt reduction (EduSaltS) in China: cluster randomized controlled trial within scale-up. J Med Internet Res. 2025 Feb 27. doi: 10.2196/60092. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40017342.

Song J, Wang C, Pombo-Rodrigues S, MacGregor G, Campbell N, He F. Formulas to estimate dietary sodium intake from spot urine lead to misleading associations with cardiovascular disease risk and mortality. J Hypertens. 2025 Apr 1;43(4):681-689.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Policy

We continue to advocate for government action to reduce salt and sugar in processed foods and in the OOH industry – throughout the year we continued to recommend reviews of the current reformulation programmes, mandatory targets and fiscal measures across the industry.

May 2024 | House of Lords Library ‘Eating less sugar: Reformulating food and drink products and government policy’ article

Action on Salt and Sugar’s impact was mentioned in the House of Lord’s article. The article reviewed the issues linked to a high sugar intake, alongside the measures that government have in place to reduce population intake, including the sugar reformulation programme and Soft Drinks Industry Levy. “Organisations including Action on Sugar are calling for mandatory, rather than a voluntary, programme of sugar reduction”, referencing our November 2022 ‘The UK’s Sugar Reduction Programme, What is Next?’ report.

July 2024 | Health For All. Consensus Action on Salt, Sugar and Health 2024 Manifesto

With the Labour party coming into government in July 2024, we set out our charity’s priorities in our new manifesto.

The escalating costs to the NHS of diet related disease are unsustainable, but in many cases are entirely preventable. Providing available, accessible and affordable healthy food is essential in preventing premature death and disability and reducing the cost of a poor diet on the NHS.

The new government needs to create history and be the first to prioritise prevention by:

  1. Improving the nutritional composition of food and drink.

  2. Introducing levies to further incentivise change.

  3. Creating healthy environments.

Read our manifesto.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

October 2024 | The House of Lord’s Recipe for Health: A plan to fix our broken food system report

Action on Salt and Sugar submitted written evidence to the House of Lord’s Inquiry, and our work was featured five times throughout their final report. This included our call for an independent regulatory authority, such as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for nutrition related policies and programmes. It also included our reference to the evidence that mandatory policies are more effective than voluntary programmes in salt and sugar reduction.

Our survey on children’s packaging was cited, highlighting the high number of products advertised to children that are unhealthy according to the Nutrient Profiling Model. The report also highlighted our view that whilst the proposed guidelines for the composition of baby and infant food showed some alignment with the gold standard World Health Organization Europe Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model, it did not go far enough.

February 2025 | Parliamentary MP Drop-In Event at Westminster

Action on Salt and Sugar joined other members of the Obesity Health Alliance for a Parliamentary MP drop-in event held at Westminster.

We partnered with Sustain to speak to members of Parliament about the Recipe for Change Campaign and discuss how they can use their position to help influence policy. The event offered a fantastic opportunity to speak in depth about out salt and sugar reduction work and raise awareness of the urgent need for government action.

March 2025 | Sugar impact in the UK. Parliamentary Discussion

We joined the British Dental Association and the Obesity Health Alliance for a parliamentary discussion on the rising rates of tooth decay and childhood obesity accredited largely in part to the high levels of sugar in our everyday food and drink.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Consultation Responses

May 2024.

Action on Salt and Sugar submitted a response to the House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Select Committee’s call for evidence.

September 2024.

Action on Salt and Sugar responded and supported the Obesity Health Alliance’s submission to the ‘National Policy Planning ’ Framework .

Action on Salt and Sugar submitted a representation for the Autumn 2024 Budget.

October 2024.

Action on Salt and Sugar submitted a response to the open consultation from the World Health Organization on Nutrition Labelling.

October 2024.

Action on Salt and Sugar submitted a response to the government consultation ‘Introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for less healthy food and drink: consultation on internet protocol television (IPTV).

February 2025.

Action on Salt and Sugar contributed to the CrossParty Parliamentary Group for a Fit and Healthy Childhood’s request for their latest members report ‘Early Years Nutrition: Setting the Standard for Change’.

March 2025.

Action on Salt and Sugar responded to the HMTHMRC Soft Drinks Industry Levy Review.

March 2025.

Action on Salt and Sugar responded to the Advertising Standards Authority consultation on guidance relating to forthcoming advertising restrictions.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Open Letters

Over the last year Action on Salt have helped lead and endorse a number of open letters to the government, amplifying a unified call for stronger, evidence-led policy.

November 2024. Action on Salt and Sugar, along with over 30 other health organisations, signed an open letter coordinated by the Recipe for Change coalition, calling for bolder and more decisive action from the government, to build a healthier food industry.

December 2024. Action on Salt and Sugar co-signed an open letter coordinated by the British Medical Journal to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care calling on the government to better regulate school and nursery spaces and protect children from industry influence.

December 2024. Action on Salt and Sugar co-signed an open letter coordinated by Feedback, calling for urgent government action to reduce the UK’s oversupply of sugar and prevent millions in healthcare costs and diseases.

February 2025. Action on Salt and Sugar supported the British Heart Foundations call to the government to commit to a National Cardiovascular Disease plan.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Funding Partners

Thank you to the following funders for their support of our projects this year.

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Action on Salt & Sugar | Annual Report 2024 - 2025

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

TRUSTEES' REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Statement of trustees' responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that year.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping sufficient accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

..............................

Dr Pauline Swift Chair of Trustees

Date: .............................................

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE TRUSTEES OF CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Consensus Action on Salt, Sugar & Health (the charity) for the year ended 30 April 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.

S Meah, FCCA On behalf of TC Group

Star House Star Hill Rochester Kent ME1 1UX

Dated: .........................

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds
funds
general
designated
2025
2025
£
£
Income from:
Donations and
legacies
5
121,732
-
Charitable activities
3
17,139
-
Investments
4
4,903
-
Total income
143,774
-
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
6
137,698
-
Net incoming resources
before transfers
6,076
-
Gross transfers
between funds
(6,076)
6,076
Net income for the year/
Net movement in funds
-
6,076
Fund balances at 1 May
2024
152,448
313,923
Fund balances at 30 April
2025
152,448
319,999		 Total
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds
funds
general
designated
2025
2024
2024
£
£
£
121,732
214,421
-
17,139
144,549
-
4,903
12,817
-
143,774
371,787
-
137,698
220,529
-
6,076
151,258
-
-
-
-
6,076
151,258
-
466,371
1,190
313,923
472,447
152,448
313,923		 Total
2024
£
214,421
144,549
12,817
371,787
220,529
151,258
-
151,258
315,113
466,371

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AS AT 30 APRIL 2025

Notes
Current assets
Debtors
11
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within one
year
12
Net current assets
Net assets excluding pension liability
The funds of the charity
Unrestricted funds - general
Unrestricted funds - designated
14		 2025
£
1,491
479,302
480,793
(8,346)		 £
472,447
472,447
152,448
319,999
472,447		 2024
£
33,123
466,643
499,766
(33,395)		 £
466,371
466,371
152,448
313,923
466,371

The financial statements were approved by the trustees on .........................

..............................

Dr Pauline Swift

Chair of Trustees

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

AS AT 30 APRIL 2025

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION (CONTINUED)

1 Critical accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

2 Accounting policies

Charity information

Consensus Action on Salt, Sugar and Health constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

2.1 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

2.2 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

2.3 Charitable funds

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The designated fund will provide working capital to the charity to enable it to continue its unique activities whilst the trustees implement their fundraising strategy.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

2 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Endowment funds are subject to specific conditions by donors that the capital must be maintained by the charity.

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor(s) to the Trust that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Donated services or facilities are recognised when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use of the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. ln accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), the general volunteer time of the Friends is not recognised and refer to the Trustees' report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

lncome tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

lncome tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable.

2.4 Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

2 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity, The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs lnvolved ln undertaking each actlvlty. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset's use.

Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management carried out at Headquarters.

Charitable activities and Governance costs are costs incurred on the charity's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.

2.5 Financial instruments

The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.

Basic financial assets

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

2 Accounting policies

(Continued)

Derecognition of financial liabilities

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are extinguished.

3 Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Research and surveys income 17,139 144,549
4 Income from investments
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
2025 2024
£ £
Interest receivable 4,903 12,817
5 Donations and legacies
Unrestricted Unrestricted
funds funds
general general
2025 2024
£ £
Donations 36,381 201,225
Grants 82,959 12,750
Sponsorship 2,392 446
121,732 214,421

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

6 Charitable activities

National Salt
Awareness Week
Food Salt and Sugar
Surveys
FoodSwitch
National Sugar
Awareness
Week
2025
2025
2025
2025
£
£
£
£
Direct project costs
5,596
83,150
25,585
6,396
Other direct costs
72
936
288
72
5,668
84,086
25,873
6,468
Share of support costs (see note 7)
99
1,283
395
99
Share of governance costs (see note 7)
358
4,654
1,432
358
6,125
90,023
27,700
6,925
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - general
6,125
90,023
27,700
6,925		 WASSH
2025
£
6,396
72
6,468
99
358
6,925
6,925		 Total
2025
£
127,123
1,440
128,563
1,975
7,160
137,698
137,698		 Total
2024
£
207,096
1,017
208,113
5,600
6,816
220,529
220,529

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

6 Charitable activities

(Continued)

For the year ended 30 April 2024

National Salt Awareness
Week
Food Salt and
Sugar Surveys
FoodSwitch
National Sugar
Awareness Week
£
£
£
£
Direct project costs
17,100
129,997
39,999
10,000
Other direct costs
51
661
203
51
17,151
130,658
40,202
10,051
Share of support costs (see note 7)
280
3,640
1,120
280
Share of governance costs (see note 7)
341
4,429
1,364
341
17,772
138,727
42,686
10,672
Analysis by fund
Unrestricted funds - general
17,772
138,727
42,686
10,672		 WASSH
£
10,000
51
10,051
280
341
10,672
10,672		 Total
2024
£
207,096
1,017
208,113
5,600
6,816
220,529
220,529

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

7 Support costs allocated to activities

Insurance
Membership fees
Sundry expenses
Travel and subsistence
Marketing
Computer expenses
Governance
Governance costs comprise:
Accountancy		 Total
2025
£
60
944
835
600
375
-
7,160
9,974
2025
£
7,160
7,160		 Total
2024
£
1,039
9,629
832
1,014
-
183
6,818
19,515
2024
£
6,818
6,818

Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiners of £1,920 (2024 - £1,835) for independent examination fees.

8 Trustees

During the year, Trustees received reimbursement of expenses of £Nil (2024 - £Nil).

9 Employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

2025 2024
Number Number
4 4

There were no employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000.

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

10 Taxation

The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.

11 Debtors

Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
12
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 2025
£
431
1,060
1,491
2025
£
4,283
4,063
8,346		 2024
£
32,765
358
33,123
2024
£
2,395
31,000
33,395

13 Analysis of net assets between funds

Unrestricted
Unrestricted
funds
funds
general
designated
2025
2025
£
£
At 30 April 2025:
Current assets/(liabilities)
152,448
319,999
152,448
319,999		 Total
2025
£
472,447
472,447

CONSENSUS ACTION ON SALT, SUGAR & HEALTH

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2025

Analysis of net assets between funds (Continued)
Unrestricted Unrestricted Total
funds funds
general designated
2024 2024 2024
£ £ £
At 30 April 2024:
Current assets/(liabilities) 152,448 313,923 466,371
152,448 313,923 466,371

13 Analysis of net assets between funds

14 Unrestricted funds - designated

The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes:

At 1 May 2024 Transfers At 30 April At 30 April
2025
£ £ £
313,923 6,076 319,999
Previous year: At 1 May 2023 Transfers At 30 April
2024
£ £ £
313,923 - 313,923

The designated fund will provide working capital to the charity to enable it to continue its unique activities whilst the trustees implement their fundraising strategy.

15 Related party transactions

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).