Metro’s Formula for Change campaign heads to Downing Street

Having gained over 107,000 signatures, Metro and the family support charity Feed delivered their Formula for Change petition to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting today, to demand more is done to make infant formula accessible and affordable to all families.  

Launched in 2023, our award-winning campaign has continued to raise awareness of the impact of soaring formula prices, which have rocketed by 25% in the past two years.

Under current guidelines, formula falls into the same category as tobacco and lottery items, and isn’t available to purchase with cash alternatives. However, without loyalty points and grocery vouchers provided by local councils and food banks to those struggling the most, parents at the sharpest end of the cost-of-living crisis have few options.

Some families are even being forced into unsafe infant feeding practices that put their babies’ health at risk, while others are formula foraging, or stealing formula to feed their children. 

This is why the Formula for Change petition is urgently calling on the UK Government to review infant formula legislation and give retailers a clear green light to accept loyalty points, grocery vouchers provided by food banks and local authorities, and store gift cards as payment for infant formula. 

While we know this measure alone won’t solve the problem, it will increase options for families. 

The Westminster visit follows the Competition and Markets Authority’s recommendations that vouchers and loyalty points should be allowed when buying infant formula.Despite the CMA’s suggestion, the government has yet to comment on the issue.

When a petition exceeds 100,000, it is considered for debate in Parliament, and today’s milestone achievement saw key figures in the campaign’s success visit No.10 to hand-deliver the document.

Metro deputy editor Claie Wilson, journalist Kat Romero and founder of Feed Dr Erin Williams headed to No. 10 with Blackpool South MP Chris Webb and celebrity supporters LadBaby’s Mark Hoyle and wife Roxanne, who have been instrumental in the campaign by garnering support across their social media platforms and sharing their own experiences of food poverty.

Outside No. 10, Mark told Metro: ‘We’re hoping this is going to make such a huge difference to so many families in the UK.’

Roxanne added: ‘We wanted to be involved in the campaign because Mark and I meet parents who have cried at the checkout because they haven’t been able to use their vouchers to get formula.

‘It’s really important we’re not judging families. Every baby deserves to be fed.’

Metro’s Claie said: ‘I am so proud of the work we have done to raise awareness of the formula crisis in the UK and also so pleased to see so many others share their support and help make change.

‘Now we just need the government to do their bit. Last year, Wes Streeting promised to “get it done”, yet we’re still waiting, and families are still struggling. It is time to follow through on their pledge to help formula feeding parents.’

Kat said: ‘Over two years ago, I pitched a feature to Claie about a government policy that prohibited the discount of infant formula and how it was impacting families in a cost-of-living crisis.

‘Through that piece, I met Erin and the idea to launch this as a campaign was born. In the two years since, Formula For Change has achieved more than any of us involved could have imagined and today, we were invited to Downing Street to formally deliver our petition of over 100,000 signatures. Change is coming. What a day.’

Erin expressed how proud she was of how far the campaign has come in two years, but also admitted that there was still work to be done. Desperate parents have been reduced to watering down formula and even stealing tubs off shop shelves to ensure their babies get fed.

‘We’ve had great success in bringing down the prices of formula across the board, so families can still feed their children when money is tight,’ Erin told Metro.

‘We’re under no illusion that this will solve all the problems, but little actions can have big consequences.

‘We don’t need to change any laws or have big debates; change can be done without that, and it can be done quickly.’

Chris also joined the campaign team to deliver the petition, after recently raising the issue in the House of Commons and holding a drop-in event at Westminster to highlight the campaign to fellow MPs.

He said: ‘Today really puts into focus how much support this campaign has gathered across the UK, from normal working-class people to celebrities. It’s great to be able to hand that over to make sure their voices are all heard.’

Speaking about his personal reason for wanting to be involved, Chris explained: ‘When I had my son last year, I went to baby groups. I saw mums struggling, asking for tubs of formula, and the same at food banks.There are babies that are going hungry. Families need help.

‘I looked for campaigns that were trying to provide this, and I found Formula for Change, so I reached out and have done what I can from my part.

‘We’re heading in the right direction and we won’t stop until formula is accessible to all.’

Further Formula For Change supporters came to Parliament Square to share the moment, including director Naomi Waring, whose short film about the formula crisis, Milk, was produced by Sienna Miller. Founders of baby banks The Space, Little Village and Abernecessities, and Change Box also attended.

Since its launch, there have been many wins for the Formula for Change campaign. Iceland was the first high street retailer to allow loyalty vouchers and gift cards to purchase baby formula. They also took the lead in providing clear labelling on baby formula to inform parents that all first infant formulas are nutritionally equivalent, regardless of brand or price.

Richard Walker, Executive Chairman of Iceland Foods said: ‘Formula for Change truly is a life-changing campaign for thousands of parents, and I’ve been so proud that we have supported its efforts as a business. 

‘The work conducted by the team at Metro and Feed has been astonishing, and I fully support the petition they have delivered to No.10 today. It’s vital that the Government supports the CMA’s recommendations so we can make the formula affordable and accessible for all.’

Morrison’s has also gone on to allow other forms of payment for infant formula, while the Department of Health and Social Care officially confirmed that food and baby banks can supply cash-strapped families with formula tubs. 

Since 2023, the campaign has received the backing of several MPs, including Monica Lennon, Preet Kaur Gill and celebrities Katherine Ryan, Ashley James and Michelle Heaton are among the famous faces who have voiced their support.

The campaign has also been given the prestigious Making a Difference award, which was voted for by the public, acknowledging Formula For Change’s drive for change. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Josie.Copson@metro.co.uk 

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Lidl has slashed the price of its best bakery items to just 29p

If there’s one thing I know to be true about Lidl, it’s that the supermarket’s in-store bakery has a cult following.

Seriously, people are obsessed with everything from the retailer’s All Butter Croissant – with 122 of them selling every single minute – to the chocolate twists and the bread.

And there’s good news if you are part of the fan club, as it’s just been announced that Lidl is slicing its bakery prices, with some items now selling for just 29p each.

Customers will be able to purchase a Petit Pain or White Crusty Roll for 29p (previously 32p), while the beloved croissant will be going from 65p to 59p.

Other items included in the price drop are the All Butter Pain Au Chocolate, Pain Aux Raisin, Chocolate Twist, Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant, Almond Croissant, Maple and Pecan Plait and the Pastel de Nata.

All of these baked goods were originally 79p, but will have a new price of 69p.

A new Apple Turnover is also going to be just 69p when it launches in-store on April 25. 

It’s not clear how long this roll back of prices will last for, so if you’re a pastry lover you might want to enjoy the savings while you can. 

This comes after Lidl launched several new bakery items over Easter, including a Mini Egg Brownie, Cinnamon Bun Blondie, and a Brioche Chocolate Croissant.

And the retailer also recently unveiled plans for its first-ever in-store supermarket pub.

The £410,000 boozer will be located in a store in Dundonald, just outside Belfast, on the left side of the existing supermarket, at the opposite end of the store from the entrance.

According to drawings submitted to local planning officials, there will be six seats around the main bar, with 10 other tables/seating areas dotted around inside.

A lobby area, keg room, storage space with an ice machine, chill store, and office, with three toilets – a customer WC, an accessible unisex toilet and one for staff use only – are planned too.

The pub will also have an ‘off-sales’ area where customers can buy alcohol to consume off the premises, and an entrance/exit leading to the car park.

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Nationwide shares major update on £100 customer bonus payout date

If you bank with Nationwide, you could be due a windfall in the next few months — a welcome prospect for those in need of a cash boost.

The building society operates as a mutual rather than a traditional bank, meaning it’s owned by and run for the benefit of its members.

As such, Nationwide shares profits among account holders (rather than shareholders) as part of its Fairer Share Payment initiative, with almost 4 million customers nabbing a £100 bonus last summer.

‘The Fairer Share Payment is our way of rewarding those members who choose us for their everyday banking as well as having savings or a mortgage with us,’ the bank said in a statement.

The exact details of Nationwide’s next one-off payout have yet to be revealed, but recently announcement offers a major update on the timeline.

And ahead of the Board’s official decision, last year’s eligibility criteria gives us an idea of what to expect this time around.

When will the Nationwide bonus be paid out?

The bank’s financial results are due to be shared with the public on Thursday May 29, along with an announcement on the Fairer Share Payment.

A Nationwide spokesperson tells Metro: ‘Nationwide’s Board will decide on a Fairer Share payment for 2025 and it will depend on our financial performance.

‘That assessment will be made after our financial year end, with the eligibility criteria for this year being agreed then too. The decision will be announced as part of our full year results in May.’

Last year, bonuses were deposited into members’ accounts between June 13 and June 28, so if the scheme does go ahead – which Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert said is a ‘likely’ outcome – you’ll probably have a few months to wait before you receive any cash.

However, all the hard work was done for customers in previous payouts, so you shouldn’t need to make a claim or request the money yourself.

If it’s confirmed and you think you qualify but haven’t heard anything from Nationwide by June, get in touch. And don’t forget to stay aware of fraudulent attempts at obtaining your personal information to apply for the payment.

Who is eligible for the Nationwide bonus?

Assuming the scheme comes with the same prerequisites as it did for 2023-2024, to be in the running, customers must hold both a qualifying current account as well as a qualifying savings or mortgage account.

Each of the bank’s current accounts were eligible, providing certain criteria are met.

The first of these is that the account was open on March 31, the end of the financial year — although those who switched accounts between January 1 and March 31 were exempt from any additional requirements.

Otherwise, Nationwide explained that FlexAccount, FlexDirect or FlexBasic holders must have either received £500, made two payments from their account, or completed at least 10 payments out of the account between January and March to qualify.

Meanwhile, FlexPlus account holders must have paid their monthly fee, and FlexOne, FlexStudent or FlexGraduate customers need to have made at least one payment in or out during March.

Those with investment accounts and stocks and shares weren’t included in the criteria, but savings account holders qualified if they had a minimum of £100 in total across Nationwide personal savings accounts or cash ISAs at the end of any day in March.

When it came to mortgages, customers must have owed at least £100 on their residential mortgage with the building society on March 31.

Home loans through subsidiaries such as The Mortgage Works, UCB Home Loans Corporation Limited, or Derbyshire Home Loans Limited are excluded from the bonus, as are commercial mortgages and those not completed by March 31.

If you’re not sure whether you fit the bill, you can use Nationwide’s eligibility checker to work it out (although be aware this criteria may change for 2025).

A version of this article was first published on December 12, 2024.

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