PLAID Cymru would introduce a ‘pop tax’ on sugary drinks if they are in power in the next Assembly, the party’s shadow health minister Elin Jones confirmed.

In a blog published on Plaid Cymru’s website, Elin Jones said that the 2014 Wales Act confirmed that the power to introduce a pop tax would be available by the next Welsh Government.

Writing on Plaid Cymru’s Slate blog, she said: “The Wales Act of 2014 has confirmed that powers to create taxes such as a sugary drinks tax will be available to the next Welsh Government.

“The First Minister has caused confusion this week about whether the Welsh Government would have these powers. That may have been the case two years ago, but since the passage of the Wales Act, the next Welsh Government will have powers to introduce novel forms of taxation for the first time, which includes the ability to tax sugary drinks. It will be the case that the UK government will have to give permission for a tax to be introduced. We believe preventing the introduction of any tax would be unacceptable were the policy to be a manifesto commitment of whichever party was in government from 2016.”

She continued: “Our research has modelled the health benefits and expected revenue from the tax – which would be reinvested in the health service and could help pay for the additional doctors and wider investment our health service needs. Our proposal for 20 pence per litre levy on sugary drinks would help 20,000 people in Wales lose weight. It would reduce the numbers of obese people by 8,300 and the numbers of people who are overweight by 13,300. It would also raise around £45 million to be reinvested in the health service, factoring in the reduced consumption of sugar. This will be one of Plaid Cymru’s manifesto commitments in the 2016 Welsh general election.

But questioned on the policy at a press conference last week, Carwyn Jones said he was not convinced a ‘pop tax’ would be effective and that governments should be careful about just trying to restrict things without proper consideration.