Commenting on the committee's findings, The NSMC's Patrick Ladbury said:

"The committee is right to point out that government should use a range of measures, based on evidence, to achieve behaviour change. Attempts to tackle complex challenges like obesity through quick fixes, in the hope that they will be cheaper, will fail.

"However, while government should not believe they can nudge away all social ills, neither should they rush to the blunt instrument of legislation. People are not all the same, and they should not be treated as though they are. Both measures have their place, but government should base decisions to use them on real insights, not assumptions.

"Evaluation should be a central pillar of every behaviour change intervention, and we welcome the committee’s call for more robust evaluation of government initiatives. The NSMC’s new tools for evaluating the value for money of behaviour change help policymakers to do this. However, we should not let a supposed lack of evidence stifle innovative approaches. The NSMC has evidence from projects from around the world that have changed behaviour for the better and improved lives. The government’s motivation should always be evidence of need, not the number of peer-reviewed papers."