Children's Health (Hansard, 10 March 1992)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hooper)
My Lords, there is widespread and very welcome evidence to show that there has been a highly significant improvement in the health of our children over the past decade. Rates of perinatal, infant and child mortality have fallen to the lowest levels ever achieved, take-up of immunisations against communicable diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles has never been higher, and measures we have taken to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness among children are already showing benefits.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that Answer. It will be hardly acceptable to those important people—the directors of physical education—who recently pointed out that the standard of physical education for the majority of children has fallen to such an extent that some have died because they received no physical education in their early years but had it piled on to them in their latter years. The directors are asking for a thorough examination the matter to ensure that children receive physical education from the moment they enter school and right the way through their education, otherwise 1217 they may have serious physical defects when they become teenagers and adults. The directors believe it is an important point which is worthy of examination.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I am sure that the noble Lord will be delighted to hear that the Government have identified physical education as one of the 10 foundation subjects of the national curriculum which will be taken by all pupils from the age of five to 16. That process will start in September this year.

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, would it not be useful towards achieving the ends implied in my noble friend's question if all disposals of school playing fields were forbidden without the consent of the Minister involved, for which he would take personal responsibility?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I am aware from my experience in the DES that that aspect of the matter was carefully looked into, but it remains a fact that a number of children can enjoy sporting activities outside school. There are a number of organisations, voluntary sector sports clubs and so forth which cater for the needs of young people of that age group.

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, will my noble friend be cautious before she goes too far down the road of encouraging physical exercise such as jogging? Can she tell me how much jogging will eventually cost the NHS in terms of replacement hips, knees and ankles?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, that supplementary question is a little wide of the Question on the Order Paper; but it is one that I should be delighted to answer if my noble friend cares to table it.

§ Lord Ennals
My Lords, is the Minister aware that evidence recently presented to the parliamentary all-party food and health forum has suggested that a higher take-up of school meals would make a major contribution to the health of our children? What is her department and what are other departments doing about that?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, as the noble Lord is well aware, the provision of school meals is a matter for LEAs. Under the Education Act 1980, we removed the requirement to conform to prescribed nutritional content; but we are aware that a large number of LEAs are providing healthy eating choices as part of the promotion of a healthy lifestyle.

The Viscount of Falkland
My Lords, is the Minister satisfied that young people are now adequately aware of the dangers of smoking?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, yes, because health education is also a cross-curricular theme in school programmes, and we have directed a specifically targeted campaign to show young people the dangers of smoking.

Lord Hunt
My Lords, is the Minister satisfied that enough time is being given through LEAs or schools themselves to what is generally termed outdoor 1218 education in its broad, social, environmental, physical and recreational sense? My information is that a number of outdoor recreational, information and field study centres are being closed due to a lack of funds, and that not enough time is being given out of school hours to take young people into the countryside.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, two recent surveys into that matter have been carried out. I understand that the DES is currently considering them. The national curriculum physical education subject, to which I referred earlier and which is due to start in September of this year, will include a whole range of requirements in respect of health-related fitness which I am sure will take place within the school environment as well as outside it.

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, is the Minister aware that the report of the National Children's Bureau for the United Nations entitled Child Poverty and Deprivation in the UK found that during the 1980s more children were living in low income families and that the number of children living in poverty has doubled? Is the Minister satisfied that the millions of children mentioned in that report have any chance of a healthy, physical development?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, if I understood the noble Lord correctly, he referred to the National Children's Home report which was published last year. It criticised benefit levels and cited instances of hardship where families had allegedly gone without food. In fact, the report represents a small percentage of low-income families, 41 per cent. of whom were not on income support; 36 per cent. of those surveyed were in employment. Families on income support are generally able to manage, although there will always he some who need additional help. In 1992–93, over £600 million extra a year in real terms will have been made available through the income related benefits to families with children, compared with the position before 1988.

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, the noble Baroness is referring to the wrong report. I spoke of the report by the National Children's Bureau for the United Nations Children's Fund, entitled Child Poverty and Deprivation in the UK.

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, I believe that the report I mentioned covers the same point.

§ Lord Annan
My Lords, can the noble Baroness confirm that some local authorities have banned competitive games on ideological grounds? Does she think it wise to replace this by the fearsomely boring activity, callisthenics?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, my own preference would be against the latter option. As I said at the outset, this is a matter for local education authorities. They receive help, advice and encouragement, and I hope that they will note the comments made by your Lordships on this Question.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, does the noble Baroness agree that the matter could be examined by her 1219 department and the Department of Education and Science, as recommended by the British Heart Foundation?

§ Baroness Hooper
My Lords, we take the recommendations of the British Heart Foundation very seriously. There is co-operation going on between the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Health and the Health Education Authority.