On Wednesday 26th November, the Chancellor delivered the November 2025 Budget, which included new measures to improve public health and reduce health inequity.
Key announcements included the extension of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL or sugar tax) and a commitment to new Neighbourhood Health Centres. Both policies have important implications for people living with diabetes and for the wider public.
Extension of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy
We welcome the Government’s decision to apply the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) — a tax on sugary drinks — to milk-based drinks and milk alternatives. They are also lowering the point at which the tax applies, meaning the sugar content of more drinks will be need to be lowered or they will be included in the levy.
SDIL has already helped reduce the amount of sugar people get from soft drinks. So extending it to more products is a positive step towards improving children’s diets and helping them stay healthy.
At the same time, we recognise that many people living with diabetes rely on sugary drinks to treat hypoglycaemia (hypos). It is vital that affordable options for fast-acting glucose are accessible to all.
We therefore want policymakers and industry to ensure that recipe and pricing changes do not compromise the availability of suitable hypo treatments, and when there are changes to the nutritional content of products, clear labelling must be a priority.
Lifting the Two-Child Limit for Universal Credit
We’re glad to see the government has lifted the two-child benefit limit; an important step towards reducing child poverty and ensuring everyone has the resources needed to live a healthy life.
We know that living in poverty damages children’s long-term health and contributes to the unequal impact of diabetes.
For instance, in the most deprived areas children are 6 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes than those in the least deprived. The government estimates this policy could lift 450,000 children out of poverty, giving them a better chance to grow up in good health.
Neighbourhood Health Centres and reducing health inequity
We are encouraged by the commitment to develop Neighbourhood Health Centres and a focus on supporting people with diabetes particularly in the most deprived parts of the country.
Diabetes disproportionately affects people in deprived communities, and inequities in access to care remain a major challenge.
By bringing care closer to where people live, Neighbourhood Health Centres have the potential to reduce disparities in diabetes outcomes and ensure that everyone, regardless of postcode, can access the support they need to live well with the condition.
Many people with diabetes currently rely on specialist care currently delivered by hospital-based teams, so we want to see these centres to improve access to specialist skills and knowledge, through community-based diabetes specialists to support delivery of the best care and early intervention to manage complications in everyone who needs it.
Investing in technology
The Chancellor also committed an additional £300 million to improve NHS technology, to support staff with routine admin tasks and recordkeeping and boost productivity.
We have long called for better IT infrastructure within the NHS, to make it simpler to share data and information between different healthcare providers and improve accuracy and efficiency.
We hope this investment is used to create a more integrated health system which would improve the experience of people with diabetes and other conditions when accessing NHS care.
Helen Kirrane, Head of Policy, Campaigns & Mobilisation at Diabetes UK said:
“Together, these announcements mark important progress, but they must be the beginning of an ongoing commitment. The Government must maintain a clear focus on delivering high-quality diabetes care across the NHS, making sure everyone has access to timely treatment, care, and support.
“Continued investment in diabetes research is also essential to drive innovation in prevention, treatment, and ultimately the search for a cure.
“At the same time, improving public health through policies that reduce risk factors of type 2 diabetes and address inequalities must remain a priority, and we hope the government will build on the commitments in this budget. Only by combining these efforts can we create a healthier future for all.”
