PROVISION OF MILK TOKENS FOR SOYA MILK

That this House supports the all-party initiatives of councils and the campaign group which has been established to fight for free soya-milk tokens for people receiving income support; believes that is is inherently unfair that the Department of Health welfare food scheme permits the exchange of tokens for four litres or seven pints of cow's milk for families receiving income support who have children under the age of five years, but fails to provide the same opportunity to exchange tokens for soya milk; recognises that for some children, particularly those with allergies to cow's 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.