BHF Policy

In our Bridging Hearts report, published earlier this year, we outline what is known about the inequalities that exist in cardiovascular health and care in the UK 🫀

We also set out recommendations for how the government can tackle them.

Click below to read 🔗

www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/file...

Cardiovascular disease is the single biggest driver of the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas in England 💔

A person's chance of living a long life in good heart health shouldn't depend on where they live. That's why we're doing all we can to tackle CVD inequalities ❤️‍🩹

Centre for Health and Prosperity | IPPR The IPPR Centre for Health and Prosperity is a permanent home for bold, progressive thinking on how to boost health and transform the NHS to build a wealth

↪️We look forward to working with @ippr.org and partners to shape a future where good health underpins national prosperity 🤝

Learn more 👇
www.ippr.org/research-and...

↪️Better health is Britain’s greatest untapped route to prosperity, and CVD is a stark example - affecting 7.6m people in the UK, and costing the economy ~£30 billion every year 💔

Tackling CVD and improving population health could unlock growth, boost productivity, and reduce inequalities.

Building a healthier, wealthier Britain: Launching the IPPR Centre for Health and Prosperity | IPPR The centre will be a new, permanent home for bold, progressive thinking on how to boost health and transform the NHS to build a wealthier, fairer Britain.S

📢Today, @ippr.org has launched its new Centre for Health and Prosperity ❤️

We’re proud to be a founding member of the Centre, which builds on the fantastic work of the three-year Commission 🧵

www.ippr.org/articles/bui....

Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 A cross-government plan to restore nature, improve environmental quality and security, build a circular economy, and make nature easier for everyone to access.

↪️ The ambitions set out in the plan set a good direction of travel that we hope Government will build on.

Read the full plan here 👉 www.gov.uk/government/p...

↪️ We are particularly pleased that the plan:
✔️ Set out new targets to cut particulate matter (PM2.5) in line with European Union targets.
✔️ Committed to bring forward PM2.5 targets to 2030.

BHF-funded research has shown that PM2.5 can have a detrimental effect on heart health 🫀

📢 Yesterday, the Government published the Environmental Improvement Plan, which made several commitments on clear air 📢

With at least 9,000 cardiovascular deaths linked to air pollution annually in the UK, it's crucial progress to improve our air quality continues.

Autumn Budget 2025: What it means for heart health Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the Autumn Budget against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and growing pressure on public services.

ICYMI 🚨Last week’s Autumn Budget included key announcements for cardiovascular health:

🥛SDIL expanded to milk-based drinks
🏥250 new neighbourhood health centres
👩‍🔬 £8.5m boost for international researchers

Read our analysis here: www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/n...

↪️ That's why we will continue to push Government to prioritise UK life sciences, and support the sector in delivering its life saving research 💸

🧠🔬 A thriving UK R&D ecosystem fuels breakthroughs in cardiovascular research - driving innovation, saving lives, and supporting the millions living with heart and circulatory conditions.

↪️A levy on higher education providers' income from international students was announced 👩‍🎓

There is some concern about the impact of this levy on research activity. We will be monitoring the situation in collaboration with the sector 🧪

↪️An additional £300 million of new capital investment will go into NHS technology, with the aim to improve productivity ⚡

While there is limited detail beneath this, we have seen promising examples of tech used effectively and safely in cardiovascular care 💻

↪️Yesterday also saw the announcement of 250 new NHS neighbourhood centres 🏥

We're hopeful that these centres will increase people's access to heart care, by bringing care closer to home ❤️

↪️The Chancellor announced the expansion of the soft drinks industry levy to milk-based and milk-alternative drinks 🥛

We are pleased to see the Government extend the existing levy, which will likely help to reduce people's sugar intake and risk of CVD 🫀

Yesterday, the Chancellor delivered the Autumn budget, setting out the Government's fiscal plan for the year ahead 💰

Read on to see what this means for cardiovascular health and care 🧵

OHA Statement - Soft Drink Industry Levy Extended to Protect Children and Boost Nation’s Health - Obesity Health Alliance The government has today announced an expansion of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), widening it to include sugary milk-based drinks and lowering the lower threshold of the tax from 5g to 4.5g. Th...

↪️ In response to the announcement, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of BHF said "extending the levy to include sugary milk-based drinks is the right thing to do".

Read the full comment here👉 obesityhealthalliance.org.uk/2025/11/25/o...

Soft drink levy extended to protect children and improve health The government has announced an extension of the soft drinks industry levy to more high-sugar drinks, including milk-based drinks.

📢 The Govt is extending the soft drink levy to include sugary milk-based drinks 📢

BHF welcomes the announced changes and hopes to see continued progress to improve access to healthier food across the nation 📈

www.gov.uk/government/n...

What does the Men’s Health Strategy mean for male heart health? Mens Health Strategy cardiovascular health

This week, the UK Government launched the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England ❤️

Read our full response, including what this means for men's cardiovascular health, here 🔗👇
www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/n...

A final Committee day has been scheduled for Peers to discuss the last remaining amendments of the Bill 📜

Thank you to all Peers who have spoken in favour of the Bill so far, and we urge all Peers to keep up the support ❤️

Day 6 of Committee Stage for the Tobacco & Vapes Bill took place on Monday in the House of Lords 🏦

Peers debated extending smokefree places and making all future pavement licenses smokefree 🚭

↪️ Read the full report here! 🔎👇 tinyurl.com/yc376nta

↪️This must include effective implementation of the Healthy Food Standard, mandating healthy food sales reporting and targets for all large food businesses.

The Govt should also explore how fiscal levers could help drive reformulation and support successful implementation. ✅

↪️To effectively address the UK’s obesity challenge and reduce prevalence of diet-related illnesses including CVD, the Govt must go further to address our unhealthy food environment 🛒

↪️Action on Sugar analysed over 450 snack bars and found that:
▪️ 1 in 3 bars were high in sugar
▪️ On average, there was 7g of sugar per serving (equivalent to nearly 2 teaspoons)
▪️ Over half of snack bars were high in saturated fat

It's #SugarAwarenessWeek and @actionsaltsugar.bsky.social has published a 🆕 report revealing the high levels of sugar and saturated fat in popular snack bars – despite many marketing claims suggesting otherwise.

Quote by Dr Charmaine Griffiths celebrating the Men's Health Strategy

↪️ Responding to the Men's Health Strategy for England’s publication, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the @thebhf.bsky.social, said:

Government unveils England's first ever Men's Health Strategy The government launches bold plan to tackle physical and mental health challenges faced by men and boys, and reduce inequalities.

📢 Today, the UK Government has published the first ever Men's Health Strategy for England.

@thebhf.bsky.social welcomes this Strategy as an acknowledgement of the inequalities in health, including cardiovascular health, that men across the country face ❤️

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Public Affairs Officer in Hybrid - London office & home | British Heart Foundation View details and apply for this Public Affairs Officer vacancy in Hybrid - London office & home . Have you had experience of working with or in the UK Parliament? Can you think creatively, c...

⏰Applications for our Public Affairs Officer role close this Sunday!

If you're interested in championing cardiovascular research and helping to drive change within heart health, apply below 👇

BHF's Clinical Director, Sonya Babu-Narayan said: