Healthy Start Scheme and Welfare Food (Amendment) Regulations 2005

My Lords, I thank the Minister for explaining the regulations, which establish phase 1 of the new Healthy Start scheme in Devon and Cornwall and amend previous regulations. The Welfare Food Scheme has been in place since the beginning of the Second World War and, however useful its purpose, it is right that it should be reviewed in the light of the vast knowledge and experience that we now have on nutrition and vitamins. The Government have chosen Devon and Cornwall for this six- to eight-month trial because of their geographical isolation and demographics in terms of urban centres, medium to small towns and rural villages, and it is understandable why these factors make it a sensible place for the trial. But by their own admission in the Explanatory Notes the Government recognise that there are only small pockets of deprivation in that area. Why did the Government not consider a metropolitan area to be more suitable, or why not trial the scheme in both a rural and a metropolitan area so that the findings could be compared and contrasted? The current Welfare Food scheme is limited to milk and infant formula. While the scheme’s aims of broadening the foodstuffs available and providing greater access to those foods through a fixed-value voucher are worthy, we have concerns. Under the new proposals, all the value of the voucher could be spent on fruit and vegetables. We argued during the passage of the Bill that a portion of the voucher should be ring-fenced for milk. There are many worries that children will lose out on the nutritional value of milk. Will the Minister comment on that and on the strong concerns expressed by dairymen about the knock-on effect on their deliveries? Will he explain how the vouchers will account for the considerable variation in the price of fruit and vegetables around the country, the seasonality of prices and the impact of inflationary rises and falls? As part of the scheme and in line with the Government’s drive to encourage breastfeeding, provision of infant formula will be withdrawn. I am a strong advocate of breastfeeding, the benefits of which are many and well-chronicled. It is particularly important if there is a history of allergies in the family. Breastfed babies receive protection from infections and illness, and there is the added benefit that mothers who breastfeed are less at risk from a number of conditions. However, not all women can breastfeed. It can be horribly painful and some babies just do not thrive. There was an article in the Sunday Times this weekend by Sarah Smith, who was so embarrassed that she was bottle-feeding her baby, due to her daughter being a lazy sucker, that she pretended to breastfeed. The last thing we should do is somehow to demonise mothers who, for whatever reason, cannot breastfeed. Nor must we make them feel that in any way they are inferior mothers or that they are letting their children down. Surely, the best way to encourage breastfeeding is through education. Is it sensible to withdraw infant formula? Could that not leave some babies undernourished? The scheme requires a healthcare professional to sign the application form, with the aim of forging closer links with the NHS, so families have access to advice on diet, nutrition and other health issues. Yet during the consultation, as the Minister mentioned, many NHS practitioners felt that mandatory contact would stigmatise the NHS. I am still not sure why the Government decided to go along that route. Will it not add considerably to an already overburdened NHS? I do not ask such questions to be difficult or to oppose the regulations, with which we are in broad agreement, but to raise genuine areas of concern and to probe the intentions behind government’s thinking.