Released on: 04 December 2025
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has today released its response to the Competition Market Authority’s recommendations to reforming the formula milk market in the UK.
In response, NCT Chief Executive, Angela McConville, said:
"Every parent wants the best for their baby, but we know that feeding journeys can come with unexpected challenges, pressures and worries.
“Infant formula milk is an essential food for many babies. For too long formula milk companies have been coercing parents into buying more expensive products, promoted as ‘premium’, even though all formula milks are legally required to meet the same nutritional standards.
"The government is taking welcome steps to address that and ensure that parents have clear, impartial information about the nutritional ingredients of formula products so they can make informed choices without added financial stress.
"But the government could have gone further. Stronger rules on labelling and advertising are still needed, including a pre-approval process for all infant formula labels to make sure claims are accurate and not misleading. We also wanted to see brand influence removed from healthcare settings altogether, with standardised labelling used wherever parents receive feeding information or support.
"Research by NCT has found that nearly a quarter (23%) of parents did not have a positive infant feeding experience with their new baby, and over three in ten (33%) found their feeding journey did not go to plan. This underscores the need for parents and care givers have access to unbiased and compassionate support for all aspects of their infant feeding journeys.
"We also welcome investment in community-based infant feeding services and breastfeeding support. By providing women and families with practical and responsive feeding support, we can help all parents feed their babies safely, confidently, and in ways that suit their individual circumstances."
ENDS.
Notes to Editors
Data on feeding experiences comes from NCT’s post birth survey. Sent to parents who attended an NCT Antenatal Class. In 24/25 A total of 1948 responses were received.
