0:00:15 > 0:00:18My lords, the Government welcomes the advice of the scientific
0:00:18 > 0:00:23advisory committee on nutrition. I'm aware of the noble lord's owned a
0:00:23 > 0:00:28long-standing interest in the subject. This is a complex issue and
0:00:28 > 0:00:32one in which Ministers are considering carefully. Government
0:00:32 > 0:00:39will set up this position into court.Thus a Minister he said this
0:00:39 > 0:00:44is not a campaign for fortification, but attempting to cut by half the
0:00:44 > 0:00:49numbers of pregnancies affected by neural defects which lead to
0:00:49 > 0:00:51substantial terminations and bursa affected by lifelong serious
0:00:51 > 0:00:58disability. If our preventative is world-class, how come the UK has
0:00:58 > 0:01:02twice the rate of such pregnancies than the United States of America?
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Finally, can I ask that the Government has yet replied to the
0:01:06 > 0:01:10letter from the Scottish Government and the Wells government with the
0:01:10 > 0:01:15support of the Department of Health in Northern Ireland and the UK chief
0:01:15 > 0:01:20medical officers of December last, supporting the advice and decided to
0:01:20 > 0:01:26give Ivory committee and asking for urgent action to?Well, my lords, as
0:01:26 > 0:01:34I said earlier on from this is a complex issue. And apart from the
0:01:34 > 0:01:40essay seeing's viewer they said that they recommend fortification. We
0:01:40 > 0:01:45also have to remember there needs to be as it pointed out, they can only
0:01:45 > 0:01:50agree to that if the restrictions on voluntary dietary fortification and
0:01:50 > 0:01:55voluntary attrition of fully casted and other products such as breakfast
0:01:55 > 0:01:59cereals, which actively pushed the fact that they put the phone cast in
0:01:59 > 0:02:03their products. Because it is important to show there is no
0:02:03 > 0:02:05increase in their products. Because it is important to show there is no
0:02:05 > 0:02:07increasing numbers of people with intakes above the recommended
0:02:07 > 0:02:14amount. On the answer to visit Syria state reply on December 20, and he
0:02:14 > 0:02:20said I fully understand your desire to proceed with mandatory
0:02:20 > 0:02:23fortification of folic acid. I therefore asked my vicious repair
0:02:23 > 0:02:30advice that I will consider in the new year.With the Minister agree
0:02:30 > 0:02:35the reason why the US has such a low incidence of spina bifida is because
0:02:35 > 0:02:39they do add a fully casted to the food. That is the reason. And they
0:02:39 > 0:02:43have not come to any harm it yet. And they have been doing it for many
0:02:43 > 0:02:51years.My noble friend is right that they do but they had it not only to
0:02:51 > 0:02:55white flour, they added to quite a lot of other products as well. And
0:02:55 > 0:03:00it is voluntary from state to state. I would just like to add that there
0:03:00 > 0:03:03has been an important study done in the Republic of Ireland which I will
0:03:03 > 0:03:07try and tell you about Beverly C do not all shout too long. But they
0:03:07 > 0:03:16were going to put flour -- public acid in a white flour, when in fact
0:03:16 > 0:03:21they discovered from blood samples that show that the evidence of high
0:03:21 > 0:03:25intake of folic acid in Ireland were mainly due to existing practise of
0:03:25 > 0:03:33voluntary fortification. And the FSA eyes, anticipated the folic acid
0:03:33 > 0:03:37food fortification would continue to increase due to health claims being
0:03:37 > 0:03:41authorised by food. These are to prompt more food businesses to
0:03:41 > 0:03:48fortify their products so they can make the claimant.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52What the complexity is about this issue, the scientific evidence is
0:03:52 > 0:03:57quite clear, a supplementation by folate acid reduces the incidence of
0:03:57 > 0:04:01defects, and it does so because of the interaction between the gene and
0:04:01 > 0:04:06the environment. It's a week iteration of a gene that causes the
0:04:06 > 0:04:13defects. And folate acid supplementation and I use that word,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17supplementation, reduces that risk by suppressing the gene interaction,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21the science is quite clear. That's why so many countries, hundreds of
0:04:21 > 0:04:28countries in the world have used supplementation of folic acid and
0:04:28 > 0:04:30that's why we might explain why we have a different incident in
0:04:30 > 0:04:35different populations of the new of defects because of the interaction
0:04:35 > 0:04:41of the gene environment.I don't disagree with anything the Noble
0:04:41 > 0:04:50Lord says. But, but, but, but, that is why the secretary of state has
0:04:50 > 0:04:54said that he is looking at this very carefully and will come back in the
0:04:54 > 0:05:01new year. I know, I know. It is the new year, I'm aware of that. But
0:05:01 > 0:05:04also I must point out that it's not just about fortification because we
0:05:04 > 0:05:10must remember that there are quite a lot of people who don't eat white
0:05:10 > 0:05:19flour, particularly amongst the ethnic community. And also, it is
0:05:19 > 0:05:23important, if we do it, there has to be public consultation to make sure
0:05:23 > 0:05:31that businesses are willing to do the voluntary intake of folic acid.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36My lord, my lords, more than 80 countries around the world follow
0:05:36 > 0:05:42this procedure, of fortifying fine white flour with folic acid, there
0:05:42 > 0:05:47is no scientific or medical evidence from anywhere in the world to
0:05:47 > 0:05:52contradict the conclusions that it is wholly beneficial the pregnant
0:05:52 > 0:05:57woman and there is no point in the government saying pregnant woman can
0:05:57 > 0:06:00make a decision when they know they are pregnant because that's too late
0:06:00 > 0:06:11for the effect to work. Is it that the Minister talk to the Noble
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Baroness, personally when I say that, I think she might have a
0:06:13 > 0:06:18different view to her colleagues, but is it the case that the Minister
0:06:18 > 0:06:22is really challenging this overwhelming burden of medical and
0:06:22 > 0:06:36scientific evidence or is it just noonish?No, it's not noonish
0:06:36 > 0:06:43obstinacy, and the reasons I said that the secretary of state is
0:06:43 > 0:06:48mindful, but this again, and at the officials to draw up a plan is for
0:06:48 > 0:06:54the reason that we are listening to what everybody says. So, you just
0:06:54 > 0:06:57need to wait and see what the secretary of state comes out with.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01My lords I wonder if the Minister can sell the House when was the last
0:07:01 > 0:07:05campaign that the government to remind woman to take folic acid
0:07:05 > 0:07:10before they became pregnant and how many women were targeted and that
0:07:10 > 0:07:14the government foresee any future efforts to increase this number
0:07:14 > 0:07:17targeted and if not, what response abilities of the government have
0:07:17 > 0:07:25towards those babies were born with defects?Well, I think as was
0:07:25 > 0:07:30mentioned earlier, 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, so health
0:07:30 > 0:07:34education messages are provided in a range of settings targeted to women
0:07:34 > 0:07:40of child-bearing age. There is a healthy programme where they are
0:07:40 > 0:07:43offered to free pregnant woman on low incomes who receive certain
0:07:43 > 0:07:48benefits, NHS choices website provides information on healthy
0:07:48 > 0:07:52lifestyle advice during pregnancy, including the importance of folic
0:07:52 > 0:08:00acid segmentation and the NHS life information service. Early in
0:08:00 > 0:08:02pregnancy midwife will provide a woman with information about
0:08:02 > 0:08:07nutrition and diet including government such as Hole eight acid
0:08:07 > 0:08:14and vitamin D. As well as lifestyle advice.I beg leave to ask the
0:08:14 > 0:08:20question standing in mind name on the order paper.The government is
0:08:20 > 0:08:24working with a wide range of partners to understand better, the
0:08:24 > 0:08:27drivers of these crimes and what more can be done to prevent them.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32This sits alongside the review that the government has announced into
0:08:32 > 0:08:36the guidance and practise surrounding police pursuits and
0:08:36 > 0:08:41response driving. In that context, I can confirm there is no national ban
0:08:41 > 0:08:46on police pursuing suspects who are not wearing helmets.Am grateful to
0:08:46 > 0:08:51the Noble Baroness for her reply but if the Minister aware that in the
0:08:51 > 0:08:59last two years, approximately 30,000 mopeds and motorcycles and scooters
0:08:59 > 0:09:05have been stolen in and around London alone and that many of these
0:09:05 > 0:09:12have been used to perpetrate crimes. Does the Minister have the
0:09:12 > 0:09:18statistics of two wheeled enabled crime and what can be done to
0:09:18 > 0:09:23increase arrests and prosecutions of the perpetrators, many of whom are
0:09:23 > 0:09:30aged between 12 and 20?I think the Noble Lord for that question. My
0:09:30 > 0:09:37lords we cannot be sure of the actual number of lost or stolen
0:09:37 > 0:09:39bicycles in and across London to commit these crimes but Dimitar
0:09:39 > 0:09:45Berbatov police service did report a sharp increase in motorcycle related
0:09:45 > 0:09:49offences in the year through June 2000 17. Recently however, they have
0:09:49 > 0:09:53reported a fall in these crimes but it's too early to say whether this
0:09:53 > 0:09:58is the start of a sustained downtrend or did is it a seasonal
0:09:58 > 0:10:10fall. I understand the various partners in the Home Office had a
0:10:10 > 0:10:13meeting together and will continue to work with partners on producing
0:10:13 > 0:10:23an action plan in terms of what action you're taking and we are
0:10:23 > 0:10:27working with the national police chief counsel for vehicle crime and
0:10:27 > 0:10:32taking that part of a high-level action plans to understand better
0:10:32 > 0:10:39the drivers for these crimes.Does the Noble Lady and Minister agree
0:10:39 > 0:10:45with me that quite often, crime is driven by fashion and by trends and
0:10:45 > 0:10:53I give an example, decades ago, the acid attacks recently, many other
0:10:53 > 0:10:58types usually gun related crimes as robbery carries a maximum sentence
0:10:58 > 0:11:04of life imprisonment, is it not really the job was the perpetrators
0:11:04 > 0:11:08are arrested, particularly the ringleaders, for the judiciary to
0:11:08 > 0:11:16exact exam three sentences as an example to others.I think the Noble
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Lord is right, these things can become an of themselves a fashion, a
0:11:20 > 0:11:26trend of types of crime and in terms of the judiciary and what options
0:11:26 > 0:11:31are open to them, clearly presidents can be set by the types of crimes
0:11:31 > 0:11:37that are committed in terms of future sentences that are committed
0:11:37 > 0:11:41out.The Mr Burton police are having some success by police officers on
0:11:41 > 0:11:46standard bikes and dealing with this type of crime. But it's having to be
0:11:46 > 0:11:53cut because of budget cuts to the extent that some cardinals are being
0:11:53 > 0:11:59de-arrested, I understand the government would insist, Dimitar
0:11:59 > 0:12:04Berbatov police say they have suffered cuts since 2010 with
0:12:04 > 0:12:09another £400 million in cuts in the pipeline. So who is right about
0:12:09 > 0:12:20police funding, the government and the Commissioner of the metropolis.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25, police forces across the country requested increases in funding as I
0:12:25 > 0:12:32outlined yesterday that is what they have got to with the potential with
0:12:32 > 0:12:37some of the technologies available to them to release 11,000 police
0:12:37 > 0:12:43officers to do whatever jobs that the individual forces fields are
0:12:43 > 0:12:54appropriate. If police forces, I know this is a particular programme
0:12:54 > 0:12:58in London, and if police forces feel that the investment that they should
0:12:58 > 0:13:03make them they should be free to be able to do that.My lords, is it not
0:13:03 > 0:13:07there but disturbing that the police have let to be know that there are
0:13:07 > 0:13:12quite a number of crimes that are not investigated? And we have an
0:13:12 > 0:13:17assurance that this crime will always be and that we no longer have
0:13:17 > 0:13:23information shipped out to us that burglary and other things can be
0:13:23 > 0:13:25conducted with impunity because the police unable to pursue the
0:13:25 > 0:13:33criminals?Will one of the myths that was being put about what the
0:13:33 > 0:13:38police are not pursuing drivers of cycles that are not wearing helmets
0:13:38 > 0:13:44in fact, that is not the case at all as we know on police pursuing people
0:13:44 > 0:13:52without helmets, certainly police is an operational matter for the
0:13:52 > 0:13:58police, what indeed they prioritise at a local level.In light of that
0:13:58 > 0:14:01answer, perhaps the Noble Lady would explain why the young people
0:14:01 > 0:14:06concerned are taking off their helmets, but more particularly, she
0:14:06 > 0:14:09does, the increase funding. Why is it then that the Home Office refuses
0:14:09 > 0:14:16to make pay the fuel -- full amount to much more than police for its
0:14:16 > 0:14:18national and international functions even though it's a breed the sum of
0:14:18 > 0:14:23money which is viewed? Isn't that reducing the ability of the major
0:14:23 > 0:14:31than police to do with crime such as this?The question as to why people
0:14:31 > 0:14:34are taking off their helmets, I assume people are taking off helmets
0:14:34 > 0:14:40in order to not be pursued but that's why I made the point that in
0:14:40 > 0:14:46fact police are absolutely at liberty in pursuit of fighting crime
0:14:46 > 0:14:50to chase people who are not wearing a helmet. In terms of the full
0:14:50 > 0:14:54compensation, if the Noble Lord is amenable I would like to ask them on
0:14:54 > 0:15:04that point.If they are reluctant to chase suspects on scooters without
0:15:04 > 0:15:10helmets on with the suspect falling off to endure death, and I assured
0:15:10 > 0:15:18the House that intelligence surveillance investigative
0:15:18 > 0:15:26measures... SWAT my lords, in terms of police saying they want to chase
0:15:26 > 0:15:31people who are not wearing helmets, my lords the police do in every
0:15:31 > 0:15:34perceived case where there are various risks in terms of chasing
0:15:34 > 0:15:37people, there may be an incident where the police are unwilling to
0:15:37 > 0:15:42chase somebody not wearing a helmet because of the safety to perhaps
0:15:42 > 0:15:48other people and in terms of all the options on the police are following
0:15:48 > 0:15:53the round table that was had last summer, the police, the Home Office
0:15:53 > 0:15:56or are drying up an action plan to look at the various ways in which we
0:15:56 > 0:16:02can tackle this issue because it's not a single agency issue and indeed
0:16:02 > 0:16:06the police, sorry the Home Office will also be drying up a review
0:16:06 > 0:16:13which is due to report shortly.I beg leave to answer the question
0:16:13 > 0:16:20standing on the order paper.My lords we note the way in which power
0:16:20 > 0:16:24is shared and used in countries can provide a major boost or cut
0:16:24 > 0:16:27straight to the provision of essential public services and
0:16:27 > 0:16:32inclusive growth. The UK is working to support more inclusive societies
0:16:32 > 0:16:35with accountable institutions and peaceful political processes that
0:16:35 > 0:16:38are better able to meet the needs of their citizens and sustained
0:16:38 > 0:16:47development over the longer term. Does the Minister acknowledged that
0:16:47 > 0:16:50in the last two years, humanitarian assistance has doubled, the
0:16:50 > 0:16:54commitment to private sector development is due to increased or
0:16:54 > 0:16:57medically, more development spending will grow good apartments and the
0:16:57 > 0:17:02value of the pound has fallen by 20%? In the circumstances, can the
0:17:02 > 0:17:06government give an assurance that they will maintain their commitment
0:17:06 > 0:17:10to sub-Saharan Africa and in particular to sustainable services
0:17:10 > 0:17:13especially in health, education equality, social security and the
0:17:13 > 0:17:16government because these are absolutely essential to delivering
0:17:16 > 0:17:19the sustainability -- sustainable development goals ending poverty.We
0:17:19 > 0:17:24can give that assurance if you look over the past two years we have seen
0:17:24 > 0:17:32the amount steadily increasing in Zaha -- sub-Saharan Africa and those
0:17:32 > 0:17:36areas, the total now is in the region of £1.1 billion. It's a very
0:17:36 > 0:17:42important part of it because as the Noble Lord knows from his time as
0:17:42 > 0:17:47chair of the international development committee, it is
0:17:47 > 0:17:50absolutely essential to get that government rights so that economic
0:17:50 > 0:17:53growth can occur and the countries can eventually stand on their own
0:17:53 > 0:18:01two feet.The central importance of good governance to conflict
0:18:01 > 0:18:06prevention and conflict resolution, will the government ensure that in
0:18:06 > 0:18:10the forthcoming security review, the objectives of the sustainable goals
0:18:10 > 0:18:14and security goal 16 was that they did so much to include that that
0:18:14 > 0:18:20would be reflected in that security review and the waiter interest of
0:18:20 > 0:18:26security for the UK and elsewhere the world?To say that, in pursuit
0:18:26 > 0:18:33of the SDG 16, on and inclusive society which is extremely important
0:18:33 > 0:18:38for the process. One of the things we Africa and in fact throughout the
0:18:38 > 0:18:41world by and large conflict are man-made and the impact upon the
0:18:41 > 0:18:44female population worst.