Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the final result of the consultation on the Bread and Flour Regulations which concluded in November 2022.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We received 369 responses to this consultation from a range of stakeholders. We have been carefully analysing responses and expect to publish a summary of responses and government response later this summer.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what limitations they have identified with respect to meeting the dates planned for banning the sale of new petrol and diesel internal combustion motor cars.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has set out ambitious targets for the transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and has identified three key areas which we are supporting to make that ambition a reality:
With more than one million plug-in vehicles on UK roads and industry figures showing that one in five new cars sold in 2022 had a plug, we are on track for mass adoption of zero emission vehicles over the next decade.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many contributions to the consultation in respect of Amending the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 which closed on 23 November were received from each of the target audiences listed in the consultation.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government and devolved administrations ran a public consultation on proposals to amend the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 from the 1st September – 23rd November 2022. Early analysis suggests Defra received around 369 responses although this is subject to verification checks. Respondents were asked which category of field or role best described the sector they belong to. The initial analysis of this is as follows: approximately 18% identified as belonging to one of the food industry categories (flour miller, premix supplier, retailer, food manufacturer), 1% enforcement authorities, 11% health care professionals, 56% consumers, 11% answered other, and 2% did not answer this question. It should be noted that several of these responses were received from representative trade associations. Detailed analysis and verification of responses is currently underway which may change the numbers above. A summary of responses received, including final figures on respondents and their field/role will be published alongside the government response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement they have had with governments of other countries which fortify foods with folic acid in order to reduce the prevalence of neural tube defects.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has engaged with New Zealand and Australia during the development of folic acid fortification policy. The proposed changes to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, including the introduction of mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid, will require notification to the World Trade Organization in respect of Technical Barriers to Trade in advance of any new requirements. When the notification is made, there will be an opportunity for WTO members, including the European Union, to comment on the proposals.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have engaged with the EU on the introduction by the UK of policy changes relating to food fortification with folic acid; and if so, what responses they have received.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has engaged with New Zealand and Australia during the development of folic acid fortification policy. The proposed changes to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, including the introduction of mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid, will require notification to the World Trade Organization in respect of Technical Barriers to Trade in advance of any new requirements. When the notification is made, there will be an opportunity for WTO members, including the European Union, to comment on the proposals.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether and how they measure the effectiveness of advice given to women of child-bearing age planning a pregnancy according to their (1) socio-economic background, (2) ethnicity, and (3) regional location.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no specific measure on the effectiveness of advice given to women of child-bearing age planning a pregnancy.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any evidence of food manufacturers proposing to lower the level of voluntary folic acid fortification of foods.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fortification of food with folic acid is voluntary and there is no requirement to notify the Government when it is added or removed from a product. As such, the Government is not aware of any such industry considerations. The rules on fortification under existing legislation requires that where vitamins and minerals are added to food, it must be at a minimum level of 15% of the Nutrient Reference value in Retained Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 or 200 micrograms per 100 grams for folic acid.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the main nutrient deficiencies within the UK population; and whether they have carried out any analysis of any gender difference in that data.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) provides information on dietary intakes and nutritional status for males and females by age group. The latest data from the NDNS 2016 to 2019 shows that dietary intakes of most vitamins are adequate, however there is evidence of low dietary intakes of vitamin D and of some minerals including magnesium, potassium, iodine and selenium. Assessment of nutritional status in the NDNS shows low blood levels for vitamin D and folate across age and sex groups. Low dietary intakes and blood levels of iron are also seen in women and girls.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any trends in the last five years regarding the number of pregnancies terminated due to neural tube defects.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This information is not collected in the format requested. Information on neural tube defects is collected by the number of mentions, rather than number of pregnancies terminated. It is possible for a pregnancy to have multiple neural tube defects. From 2017 to 2021, there were 4,697 mentions of congenital malformations of the nervous system in Ground E abortions for residents of England and Wales. This has remained stable over the last five years, other than a small decline in 2019. Data for 2022 is due to be published in June 2023.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of lifetime direct medical costs associated with births affected by neural tube defects compared to those unaffected; and why they cited German research in the consultation on Amending the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, which ran from 1 September to 23 November, rather than UK research.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The consultation on amending the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and the Bread and Flour Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 cited research from Germany, as a relevant academic study in the United Kingdom was not available.