PROVISION OF MILK TOKENS FOR SOYA MILK

That this House supports the all-party initiative of Liverpool City Council and the campaign group which has been established to fight for free soya milk tokens for people receiving income support; believes that it is inherently unfair that the Department of Health welfare food scheme permits the exchange of tokens for four litres or seven pints of cows' milk, for families receiving income support who have children under the age of five, but fails to provide the same opportunity to exchange tokens for soya milk; recognises that for some children, particularly those with allergies to cows' milk, soya milk provides the only possible alternative for bottle feeding and that poorer families should not be denied access to soya milk because of unnecessarily restrictive regulations; and, therefore, urges the Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture to make the necessary changes to allow families to have access to soya milk, whilst at the same time ensuring that all nursing mothers are given the help and encouragement to breast feed their babies.