Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce child tooth decay rates.

Reducing rates of tooth decay is central to our commitment to help children to live healthier lives. Tooth decay is also almost entirely preventable. We are delivering the national targeted supervised toothbrushing programme for three- to five-year-olds in the most deprived areas. We are making preventative advice available to parents and young children, with oral hygiene embedded in the Healthy Child Programme and Best Start Parent Hub. Further information is available at the following two links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthy-child-programme-high-impact-area-framework

https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/

Water fluoridation is an effective intervention for reducing tooth decay and oral health inequalities. We will expand community water fluoridation in the north east of England from 2028, so that it reaches 1.6 million more people by April 2030, and assess further expansion in areas where oral health outcomes are worst.

We are also acting to reduce sugar consumption, which is the main risk factor for tooth decay. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be extended to include pre-packaged milk based and milk substitute drinks, and the lower tax threshold at which the levy applies will be lowered from 5 grams to 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.

On 25 March, the Government launched a consultation on the proposed application of the new Nutrient Profiling Model to the advertising and promotions restrictions on less healthy food and drink.