Lord Hampton

I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 6 January 2025 to Question 20959.

The department recognises there are number of issues that affect girls’ experience of, and engagement with PE lessons, including body image and negative stereotypes. It is for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers to design a curriculum for primary teacher training and specialist secondary PE teaching, in line with the ITT core content framework and early career framework, that is relevant to subject or phase they will be teaching and provides the opportunity for all pupils to experience success.

Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, headteachers and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge the development and training that teachers in their schools need to support their pupils. The PE and sport premium can be used by primary schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to their offer including continuing professional development and training where needed as well as support for equal access for boys and girls.

The government is committed to creating the healthiest ever generation of children. Breaking down the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity will be critical to achieving the government’s ambitions.

The department knows from the Active Lives Children and Young People survey results, covering the 2023/24 academic year, that only 45% of girls meet the Chief Medical Officers’ 60 minutes of activity a day recommendation, compared with 51% of boys. The figures for both remaining largely stable over the last two years.

The School Games Mark, funded by the government and managed by the Youth Sport Trust (YST), has introduced mandatory equality criteria for PE, school sport and physical activity participation for the 2024/25 academic year. Schools aiming to achieve or maintain the award’s status and recognition must now meet these criteria. The department is collaborating with the YST to identify and share best practice from the School Games Mark, with all schools on enhancing girls' equal access to PE, school sport, and physical activity.

The PE and sport premium for the 2024/25 academic year helps all eligible primary schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to their offer, and the guidance states that funding can be used to provide or improve equal access for boys and girls.

The department works in tandem with a wide range of sporting bodies to further support equal access to sport and physical activities.

The department has also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will seek to deliver a broader curriculum so that children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, PE and drama, as well as vocational subjects.

The government is committed to creating the healthiest ever generation of children. Breaking down the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity will be critical to achieving the government’s ambitions.

The department knows from the Active Lives Children and Young People survey results, covering the 2023/24 academic year, that only 45% of girls meet the Chief Medical Officers’ 60 minutes of activity a day recommendation, compared with 51% of boys. The figures for both remaining largely stable over the last two years.

The School Games Mark, funded by the government and managed by the Youth Sport Trust (YST), has introduced mandatory equality criteria for PE, school sport and physical activity participation for the 2024/25 academic year. Schools aiming to achieve or maintain the award’s status and recognition must now meet these criteria. The department is collaborating with the YST to identify and share best practice from the School Games Mark, with all schools on enhancing girls' equal access to PE, school sport, and physical activity.

The PE and sport premium for the 2024/25 academic year helps all eligible primary schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to their offer, and the guidance states that funding can be used to provide or improve equal access for boys and girls.

The department works in tandem with a wide range of sporting bodies to further support equal access to sport and physical activities.

The department has also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will seek to deliver a broader curriculum so that children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, PE and drama, as well as vocational subjects.

The Government laid legislation in England on 14 November 2024 to introduce the mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid. Similar legislation in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will be laid shortly. An impact assessment has been published to accompany this legislation. Fortifying non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid will help prevent approximately 200, or 20%, of Neural Tube Defects in the United Kingdom, such as spina bifida, in pregnancies.

We know that approximately 50% of pregnancies in the UK are unplanned, and folic acid intakes for women are lower than recommended, particularly amongst younger women and some lower socio-economic groups. The new regulations will help provide women with a higher baseline intake of folic acid, better protecting their babies in all scenarios. Importantly, fortification is intended to supplement, not replace, current advice on folic acid supplementation.

Non-wholemeal wheat flour is an established vehicle for mandatory fortification in the UK as it is already fortified with calcium, iron, niacin, and thiamine. By not requiring wider fortification of products, burdens and costs on businesses are minimised. Consumers are able to obtain folate, the non-synthetic form of folic acid, from other food sources, and some products are already voluntarily fortified with folic acid, such as breakfast cereals and spreads. Limiting folic acid fortification to non-wholemeal wheat flour enables individuals to choose not to consume fortified flour, if that is their choice.

Many countries have folic acid fortification policies, but each country fortifies different products, has different approaches, populations, and diets. Both Canada and the United States fortify at levels below the UK. There is a clear consensus from scientific committees that the proposed levels of fortification are appropriate, and provide a balanced approach to fortification.