Children: Oral Health - Question

Lord Hunt of Kings HeathShadow Spokesperson (Cabinet Office), Shadow Spokesperson (Health), Shadow Spokesperson (Education)

My Lords, I am sure that we are all grateful to the Minister for his wisdom in advising us on such important matters. I declare an interest as president of the British Fluoridation Society. To return to the point that I have raised with many Ministers over the past few years, the Minister says that it is down to local decision-making. The problem is that the hurdles that have been put in place make it almost impossible for local authorities to get fluoride into their water supplies. Will he look again at the rules and the law and agree that this is a strategic decision that needs to be made by government?

Lord O'Shaughnessy The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

I am certainly happy to look again at that issue because we know the benefits of fluoridation. That is one reason why more children are having fluoridevarnishes, for example.

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