Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Glindon and James Heappey

Monday 6th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[James Heappey]

My hon. Friend asks an excellent question. Her Majesty’s Government aim to build resilient overseas territories with good governance, diversified economies and prosperous communities that are all able to deal with and recover better from crises. For example, the Ministry of Defence is delivering maritime-security capacity building in the Caribbean and supporting the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands to establish new reserve defence regiments.

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

What assessment he has made of the contribution of the armed forces in tackling the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (James Heappey)]

At the peak of our covid covert response, some 20,000 troops were at readiness, and more than 4,000 of them were deployed at any one time at peak. Cumulatively, over the course of the pandemic more than 14,000 military and civilian personnel in the Ministry of Defence have been involved in the Government’s response to the pandemic.

[Mary Glindon [V]]

Our armed forces have been invaluable in delivering for the whole nation during the pandemic, but for the second year running they have not received their pay award on time. Will the Minister put things right and say precisely when our forces can expect to receive their pay rise?

[James Heappey]

I join the hon. Lady in praising the response of our armed forces to the covid pandemic; they have been absolutely extraordinary. Armed forces pay is a matter for the Armed Forces Pay Review Body. I will find out exactly what its recommendations are and when they are due to be implemented and write to the hon. Lady.

Children’s Health: Access to Milk

Debate between Mary Glindon and James Heappey

Tuesday 28th March 2017 Westminster Hall

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered children’s health and access to milk in educational settings.

It is a great honour to speak under your chairmanship, Mrs Gillan. School milk is an issue that cuts across three Departments—the Department of Health, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Department for Education—but I am glad that the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families is here today to respond to the debate.

I want to highlight the importance of school milk because it is fundamental to children’s health and is a nutritious source of energy during the school day. I thank the School and Nursery Milk Alliance for all its good work and for the information it has supplied for the debate. I am also grateful to Tetra Pak for sharing with me a copy of its forthcoming report, “Making More of Milk”, which will be formally launched on 5 April and which contains information particularly pertinent to the debate.

Milk has been an important part of our diet for hundreds of years. It is a natural healthy option for children that contains vitamins and minerals vital for good dental health and bone development. It also plays a key role in a healthy diet, helping efforts against childhood obesity and dental decay.

The Health Secretary has identified childhood obesity as a public health priority. It is estimated that 29.2% of children between the ages of two and 10 in England are either overweight or obese. Excess weight during childhood often precedes the development of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, insulin resistance and other diseases. Overweight and obese children are more prone to become obese adults.

The latest data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that 34% of 12-year-olds and 46% of 15-year-olds exhibit tooth decay. As well as being unpleasant for children, treating tooth decay is a significant cost to the NHS. Cow’s milk contains micronutrients, such as calcium and vitamins B3, B12 and B2, that reduce the risk of tooth decay, bleeding gums and mouth sores.

Statistics released only last week by the faculty of dental surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons showed that more than 9,000 tooth extractions were performed on young children last year, including 47 extractions performed on babies under one year old. The dean of the faculty, Professor Hunt, described the figures as “shocking” and as attributable to the amount of sugar that children consume. Sadly, although the figures were widely reported in the media and although the new soft drinks levy will exclude milk products that contain at least 75% milk, there was no mention of the fact that drinking milk as a healthy alternative to sugary drinks can help children to develop strong teeth.

In 2016, Northumbria University published a review of the available research on the impact of milk on children’s development. The evidence reviewed by the researchers suggested that milk consumption greatly improves children’s nutritional status. The review, which was drawn primarily from cross-sectional studies, reported that children who regularly drink milk have lower body mass indices, lower body fat percentages and lower waist circumferences than children who rarely drink it. That is probably due to the unique combination of essential nutrients that it contains. In particular, the evidence suggests that milk contributes to body mass control and body composition in children—possibly because of the high satiety effect, which makes it an ideal mid-morning snack—and contains multiple nutritional properties that protect against dental decay and promote good dental health.

The nursery milk scheme was subject to a lengthy consultation during the last Parliament about whether it could be made more cost-effective, possibly by giving a single large company the contract to provide milk to all settings across the country. The scheme was left in place untouched, but the problem with it is that children are no longer entitled to milk once they turn five, whenever in their reception year that happens. This confusing system not only creates extra work for teachers but seems very unfair on little children. Tetra Pak’s “Making More of Milk” report has found that 89% of parents and 93% of teachers think that school milk should be made available to all reception children, regardless of when they turn five. Will the Minister commit to changing the scheme and making free school milk available for all reception children?

The Government have given assurances that until we leave the EU we will continue to participate in the European school milk scheme, through which over-fives can receive a subsidised portion of milk, but schools and parents need to know the Government’s plans for the future. Can the Minister offer us any further information or assurances about the future of subsidised school milk for children over five?

Another worrying factor is that Public Health England’s “Eatwell Guide”, which was published in March 2016, reduced the content of milk and dairy products in the recommended daily diet from 15% to 8%. Although the guidance includes recommendations of healthier drinks for the first time, the reduced role of milk and dairy products could limit alternatives for children and young people who are unwilling to drink water or unsweetened beverages.

[James Heappey (Wells) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate and on highlighting the many health benefits of drinking milk. I represent a constituency that produces a great deal of milk. It is fantastic to see her advocating those health benefits; I hope that the Government will listen and, more generally, that people around the country will realise that the more milk they drink, the healthier they will be.

[Mary Glindon]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He expresses a sentiment that will be shared by many people around the country.

Milk can play a role in keeping children hydrated. The British Nutrition Foundation’s healthy hydration advice for children puts milk second only to water as a drink that they should consume. Although greens are important in everyone’s diet, it is worth knowing that a 200 ml glass of milk provides the same calcium as 63 Brussels sprouts or 11 servings of broccoli—quite a thought.

The “Eatwell Guide” caused great concern among stakeholders in the dairy industry, who did not feel that they had been properly consulted during its development. Although Public Health England published information last December on the process of developing the guide, it did not make it clear why the recommendations to reduce the level of dairy were introduced. Can the Minister offer reassurances that the new guide will not discourage children from drinking milk? Will he commit to involving the full range of stakeholders next time any important public health guidance is being revised?

Finally, I would like to raise the issue of school food standards. The school milk sector was broadly positive about their introduction in January 2015, but the School and Nursery Milk Alliance has highlighted the fact that there is no clear evaluation or monitoring of them. To ensure that we make the most of the standards, schools not only need to provide milk, they need to provide it in a way that is appealing to children and that encourages them to drink it. Does the Department for Education have any plans to evaluate the implementation and impact of the standards?

Today, school milk tends to be chilled and served in individual cartons—a big contrast to the warm milk that some MPs may remember from their childhood—but there are other factors that affect whether children want to drink it. For example, milk is more appealing at the mid-morning break than at lunchtime, because its high satiety effect means that it does not make a good accompaniment to a meal. A mid-morning break is also a good time to have a healthy snack, to help children to get through until lunch, particularly if they did not eat a proper breakfast.

Evidence shows that many children drink only skimmed or semi-skimmed milk at home, so if they are given full-fat milk at school, they tend not to like the taste. The school food standards will be revised as part of the childhood obesity plan and it is important that the requirement to provide milk is retained. Can the Minister provide any details about the plans to update the standards as part of the childhood obesity plan? As part of the childhood obesity plan, a new health rating scheme for primary schools will be introduced in September this year. It would be helpful if it covered access to milk in schools, including how it is offered to children. Will milk be included at least once a day?

Ofsted is also planning to produce guidance for schools following its thematic review of obesity, healthy eating and physical activity in schools. It would be helpful for this guidance to include information on milk, including best practice on how to serve it. Academies established between June 2010 and September 2014 are not required to implement the school food standards, although we understand that many of them do so voluntarily. Are there are any plans to make compliance compulsory for all schools?

There are a wide range of issues impacting on school milk today. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response to this debate. As these issues cut across a number of Departments, I hope he will be able to tell us how they are working together to ensure that children are able to access milk in schools for the benefit of their health, for now and for their lifetime.