Asked by Lord Lexden To ask Her Majesty’s
Government what plans they have to promote the increased
consumption of school milk. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State, Department for Education (Lord Nash) (Con) My Lords,
this Government recognise the vital importance of pupils being
healthy and...Request free trial
Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to
promote the increased consumption of school milk.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education (Lord Nash) (Con)
My Lords, this Government recognise the vital importance of
pupils being healthy and well nourished. We already
encourage the consumption of dairy products as part of a
balanced diet through school funding legislation and
guidance. Under the school food standards, milk must be
available during school hours and offered free to
disadvantaged pupils. In addition, schools and childcare
settings receive over £70 million a year of funding through
the EU and nursery milk schemes.
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(Con)
Is it not the case that milk can play a conspicuous part in
helping to combat obesity among children and the decay of
their teeth—problems, sadly, that are increasing in our
country today? Is there not more that can be done by the
Government, schools themselves and interested organisations
to get regular, increased consumption of milk in schools,
so that children gain the health benefits that it brings?
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I agree entirely with my noble friend that milk is excellent
for children’s growth and development. It is a good source of
energy and protein and contains a wide range of vitamins and
minerals. It is also rich in calcium, which growing children
and young people need to build healthy bones and teeth. That
is why the school food standards require low-fat milk or
lactose-reduced milk to be available during school hours and
why we are encouraging further consumption of dairy or dairy
alternatives through our Eatwell Guide. Of course, we are
focused on healthy eating through our child obesity plan.
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(Con)
My Lords, is the Minister aware that children who are given
whole milk—as opposed to semi-skimmed milk—for the first six
years of their life are much healthier and less obese than
those who are not? This is because fat in whole milk enters
the duodenum and delays the emptying of the stomach, giving
the feeling of fullness and therefore reducing the chances of
obesity.
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My noble friend raises a very interesting point. I shall
ensure that officials are aware of it and of all the
implications to which he referred. The Government recommend
that children should be given whole milk and dairy products
until they are two years old because they may not get the
calories or essential vitamins they need from lower-fat
milks. After the age of two, children should gradually move
to semi-skimmed milk, as long as they have a varied, balanced
diet and are growing well. In England, whole milk can be
provided up to the end of the school year in which children
reach five, but after that, as I have said, school milk must
be low-fat or lactose reduced.
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(LD)
My Lords, the Minister mentioned the problems of tooth decay,
which in the north-west—my area—have reached worrying levels.
Up to 35% of young people there have tooth decay. The
Minister will be aware that in many schools, pupils are
offered dental milk. Parents have a choice: they can choose
ordinary milk or dental milk. This option to choose dental
milk has been very helpful in dealing with tooth decay. Do
the Government have any plans to further promote the drinking
of dental milk?
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The noble Lord raises a very good point and I know he is very
experienced in the area of primary schools. I am aware of a
depressing number of children having their teeth removed
because they have rotted at a very young age, and of many
schools having things such as tooth-brushing schemes, et
cetera. I shall certainly look more at what we are doing in
the area he mentioned.
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(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister alluded to, but did not mention, the
European school milk scheme, which is funded by the European
Union, but administered by Defra. It provides subsidised milk
to all children above the age of five each day in school.
However, Defra has committed to containing participation in
the scheme for only as long as the UK is a member of the EU.
I am sure noble Lords will remember that some 40 years ago, a
former Education Secretary attracted considerable opprobrium
when she decided to reduce the amount of milk available to
school children. I am certain the Minister would not like
that to happen to his current boss, so will he commit to
meeting with his fellow Ministers in the Department of Health
to find a way of lobbying the Government to provide a
replacement for the current scheme when it expires in 2019?
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We will play a full role in the existing scheme until we
leave the EU, but as our involvement in the scheme will be
short term, we are taking a pragmatic approach to keeping
changes to current arrangements to a minimum. We will
consider the long-term approach to school milk provision,
following our exit from the EU, as part of our future
domestic policy programme.
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(Con)
My Lords, milk is also rich in vitamin D, as the Minister has
said. There is some research highlighting that young girls
from ethnic minorities and Asian women are more prone to
vitamin D deficiency. Will the Minister say whether his
department is working closely with the Department of Health
to highlight this issue so that it can be addressed?
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I am afraid I do not know the answer to that question. I will
investigate it and write to my noble friend.
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(CB)
My Lords, will the Minister say whether there are any systems
in schools so that children who are deprived and come to
school without breakfast get the milk they need?
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I entirely agree with the noble Baroness and I am very
shocked to see how many pupils often arrive at school having
not eaten. Some even do not necessarily use their dinner
money to eat in school. All schools try to discourage this
and try to get them to eat in school, but there are an
increasing number of breakfast programmes, such as the Magic
Breakfast, and we have announced in the Budget that we are
providing further money to enable schools to provide
breakfast clubs.
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(Con)
My Lords, milk production and milk prices are slowly
recovering. The market is still volatile and many British
dairy farmers suffer daily losses. Can my noble friend
explain what steps the Government are taking to support the
milk industry?
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I can. The UK dairy industry is enormously important to us.
We are working with it to encourage greater resilience in the
face of global market volatility. There are examples, with
the introduction of extended tax averaging, enabling many
farmers to smooth their tax bills over a five-year period.
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(Lab)
Will the Minister confirm that free milk will still be
available post-2019?
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I do not think that I can look that far ahead, but I would be
surprised if it was not.
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