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Healthy Start Scheme and Welfare Food (Amendment) Regulations 2005

My Lords, there were happy occasions during the passage of the primary legislation when we debated this subject at length with the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, who gave her customary full and detailed replies. I am delighted to see these regulations before us. However, it is fair to ask one or two questions about the operation of the scheme. Referring to those debates, the Minister will know that we were concerned that a scheme for so long successful in its universal coverage of children and mothers was about to be disrupted. Therefore, it is beholden on us to test some of the assumptions behind it. The first point is the value of the voucher, at £2.80. I shall assume that that is based on the price of milk at the moment. Given that fruit and vegetables are now included and, as the noble Baroness said, there are variations by region and by price, will that be monitored? In his introduction, the Minister said that the Government were committed to ensuring that the scheme will be updated. How and when will that uprating happen? Will there be an annual uprating, and will it be in line with inflation? The scheme as the Minister outlined it will apply to children up to the age of four, not five as with the current milk scheme. Is that because there is an assumption that children will go to school and that their nutritional needs will be met in school at the age of five? Perhaps the noble Lord can confirm whether that is right. It seems strange to have chosen to pilot the scheme in Devon and Cornwall, as the noble Baroness said. I am sure that there are good reasons for doing so, but to pilot a scheme like this in an area where there are so few members of black and minority ethnic communities is strange. In the roll-out of the scheme—in future it will be rolled-out to other areas—will its effect on minority communities be closely monitored? What will the Government do to ensure that there are enough registered food outlets available within an area, particularly in rural areas, to ensure the scheme is workable in the way that he envisages? If there are not enough outlets, what other proposals will be put in place? The noble Baroness, Lady Morris, mentioned that the scheme is confined solely to cows’ milk. Some children are allergic to cows’ milk and, therefore, depend on goats’ milk or soya milk. There is a perfectly good nutritional reason for those alternatives to be considered, so perhaps the noble Lord would say why not. Regulation 13(2) states that there will be no refunds when someone presents at a food outlet but does not obtain food to the full value of the voucher. Why is that so? Regulation 13(3) says that if retailers do not have goods available, they will be able to write a note. Does that mean that the system will work like medical prescriptions, when if a pharmacist cannot supply a prescription in full, he writes a note for the person to present on a subsequent occasion. Perhaps the Minister can explain why children of asylum seekers are not to be included in this scheme. I suspect that he will say that children of asylum seekers and pregnant asylum-seeking women will be dealt with by other authorities. If professionals with knowledge of and concerned about children’s welfare and health are concentrated in this scheme, why should asylum seekers not be in touch with those people? Will the Government keep under review the diversity of the retailers that participate in the scheme? When we discussed this matter under the primary legislation, there was a fear that the scheme may become a means whereby retailers get themselves into a monopoly position with the NHS and have undue influence over the provision of essential food to children. I would be grateful if the noble Lord would answer those questions.