Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of studies in the United States, Canada and China which have concluded that high levels of fluoride permanently reduce the IQ of children.

Some studies from these countries have reported a reduction in IQ in children associated with exposure to relatively high levels of fluoride. However, the overall weight of evidence and authoritative reviews of relevant and suitable studies indicate that there is no convincing evidence that fluoride at the levels permitted in fluoridated drinking water present a risk of adverse neurodevelopmental effects in children.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Victoria Atkins MP) continues to have a duty to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes on health and to produce reports at no greater than four-yearly intervals. The last monitoring report for England was published in 2022. This supported the findings of earlier monitoring reports and the wider evidence that water fluoridation, at levels recommended in the United Kingdom, is a safe and effective public health measure to reduce dental caries and inequalities in dental health.