Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Baroness Nargund Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I take the noble Baroness’s point, which is why I am glad that we committed in the 10-year health plan to making it a legal requirement—therefore strengthening it—that alcohol labels display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. That is something else that noble Lords have raised. As was referred to in the previous question, it is also important that we note that part of care for pregnant women is dealing with alcohol consumption.

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, no amount of alcohol is considered to be safe in pregnancy. Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder—FASD—affects roughly one child in every classroom of 25 children, and it is a preventable neurodevelopmental disorder. A report published just two days ago by the National Organisation for FASD suggests that inaction in addressing this problem is costing the UK economy £9.2 billion annually. As most people in the UK drink alcohol, and as nearly half of pregnancies are unplanned and one-third of births are unplanned or associated with feelings of ambivalence, I ask my noble friend the Minister: do the Government have any plans to extend the public health campaign to pre-conception clinics and to advise women who are planning to get pregnant? That requires pre-conception advice, as so many pregnancies are unplanned. Will the Government also link that to school education, please?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend is quite right about the potentially lasting effects of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder on children, which is why the main priority is preventing it. There are three approaches. First, the clear advice—the safest approach, if you are pregnant or could become pregnant—is not to drink alcohol, and that will remain consistent. I have just referred to the legal requirement for alcohol labels. We will of course continue to look at how prevention messaging can best reach people pre conception. The obvious point here is that so many pregnancies are not planned, so there is no neat solution to getting to the right people. We have to get our messaging right, which is why we are taking the approach we are.