House of Lords

 

Lord McColl of Dulwich Conservative

Can the Minister tell us what proportion of the population is actually receiving fluoride in their drinking water?

Lord Markham The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

I will need to write to give the exact number. From memory, it is not a big number at the moment—less than 10%—but I will confirm that. That is why I was pleased that we agreed the measures the other day, so that we can expand that. Evidence shows that in areas where water is fluoridated—again, I am speaking from memory and I will confirm it in writing—tooth decay declines by as much as 20%, so it does work.