Health: Folate
Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Hayman
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
I do not know whether the Government have talked to other countries about this issue, but the Secretary of State is very keen to make progress and any delay is not intended. I am sure that the noble Lord will understand that getting this under way takes time, gathering together personnel, et cetera, and relevant cross-government approval, which needs to be attained, but I can assure him that it will happen—not fortification, but looking into it, and the times will be communicated once clearance has been received from various government departments.
Baroness Hayman (CB)
The Minister referred to taking time. The original study into this was published in 1991, when I had four small children and was involved in issues of maternal health. In the intervening time, I have had four small grandchildren. Eighty-one countries have acted on this British, publicly funded research, which has saved untold suffering throughout the world. Is it not a disgrace that we have not got to the point of preventing that suffering in our own country? If the Secretary of State is interested in this issue, will he agree to the meeting suggested in the Question?
Health: Obesity
Debate between Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen and Baroness Hayman
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
It is definitely true that inequality has a part to play but it is interesting that it is due not only to funding. While I was researching this, I noticed comparative statistics on life expectancy at birth across the G7 nations. Those show no direct correlation between GDP expenditure and health outcomes. For instance, the USA spent 16.6% of its GDP on healthcare but has the lowest life expectancy at 78 years. Italy spends the least at only 9.1% of its GDP and has the second highest life expectancy at 82 years. Diet and lifestyle—which everybody has a responsibility for—go a long way in playing a part in this.
Baroness Hayman (CB)
Surely the Minister agrees that the point the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, is making is not a comparison between how much is spent per head on healthcare but about the poverty that gives rise to the inequalities that lead to disparities in life expectancy. She is drawing attention to that basic poverty, aside from the need to have well-funded health services.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
That is exactly why the NHS is spending an increase of £8 billion in real terms between 2020 and 2021, and why public health funding has been ring-fenced and the grant will remain in place for 2017 and 2018. We have also been committed to the Healthy Start scheme and provided an estimated £60 million-worth of vouchers to families on low incomes across England in 2015-16. These can be exchanged for fresh or frozen fruit, veg and milk, and provide free vitamins that support intake during pregnancy and early years. An average of 480,000 children benefited from the issue of these vouchers every four weeks last year.