Pregnancy: Neural Tube Defects

Lord Rooker Excerpts

Monday 21st December 2015 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Rooker]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any proposals to minimise the risk of neural tube defective pregnancy in women of reproductive age.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are looking at all aspects of preconception health. This includes the uptake of folic acid, which can reduce the risks of neural tube defects. Women are advised to take a supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid from several weeks before conception until the 12th week of pregnancy. This information is available on the NHS Choices website.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that on four occasions his predecessor told the House that the Government were awaiting information on blood folate levels? It was published nine months ago yesterday and we have had no statement whatever about it. Has the Minister had the chance to look at the scientific paper published last week showing that, if the UK had adopted white bread flour fortification at the same time as the United States of America, there would have been 2,000 fewer neural tube defect-affected pregnancies in the UK? There is now a spina bifida epidemic in Europe, which there is not in the 80 countries that fortify flour with folic acid. Surely it is time for action.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord for the extraordinary work that he has done in this field and for giving this very important and tragic issue a greater degree of public awareness. My honourable friend in the other House, Jane Ellison, the Minister for Public Health, is considering her response to the report that the noble Lord referred to and to the report by the SACN, the committee on nutrition, published on 20 October. I expect that she will come to a decision early in the new year.