In addition to the ring-fenced funding I spoke of, we are going further on alcohol labels to get across the important points. In 2022, NICE produced and published a quality standard, which the noble Baroness referred to, so that the system can help diagnose but also support those affected by FASD. I am not aware of there being widespread difficulties with its adoption, because it is so fundamental to pre-pregnancy and pregnancy care, but, if the noble Baroness has particular examples, I would of course be pleased to look into them.

Growth is the number one mission of this Government, and growing the UK hydrogen sector will help create good jobs, attract investment, strengthen energy security and cut emissions. Through the first Hydrogen Allocation Round, we have already supported 11 projects expected to create over 600 direct jobs and attract over £400 million of private investment. More broadly, hydrogen is backed in the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan as a frontier technology, with a wider public finance offer designed to crowd private investment into sustainable UK supply chains.

We have published a Cost Challenge Document which advises shortlisted projects in Hydrogen Allocation Round 2 on achieving cost-competitiveness during the due diligence stage. Projects must demonstrate value for money and justify costs across key components, with an aim to achieve lower average hydrogen production costs than seen in Hydrogen Allocation Round 1.

Government is committed to providing a robust funding mechanism for hydrogen production. The Government consulted on the design of the Gas Shipper Obligation between January and April 2025. We are grateful to those who responded to the consultation, and we will publish a response as soon as possible.

The UCL research is interesting. I note that UCL itself says that the analysis does not necessarily prove causality, although it does demonstrate correlation. The action that this Government are taking is not a small step, including as it does the reform of the children’s social care system and considerable investment in the Best Start Family Hubs programme to support children and parents with some of the difficult decisions and issues that any of us who have parented know that we will face. That strikes me as being a quite important development, very well invested in, in this country.

My Lords, we welcome the evidence in this report, in particular the inclusion of the voices of children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act is a key step towards delivering the Government’s mission to break the link between young people’s background and their future success, and will deliver new measures to support children’s behaviour, well-being and protection. This sits alongside earlier support for children and families through our £2.4 billion families first partnership programme and our Best Start Family Hubs.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to, by the end of this Parliament, introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector. The plan also committed to introduce new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.

We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our proposals.

Specific implementation dates will be determined following consultation, and the intention is that the policy will be finalised and legislation laid so that reporting comes into force before the end of this Parliament, no later than 2029.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to, by the end of this Parliament, introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector. The plan also committed to introduce new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.

We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our proposals.

Specific implementation dates will be determined following consultation, and the intention is that the policy will be finalised and legislation laid so that reporting comes into force before the end of this Parliament, no later than 2029.

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. The short answer is yes, of course. We are hopeful that this new relief will help boost the supply of essential items to charities, enabling them to reach the people and communities who need them most. The relief will also make it easier for businesses to give surplus stock a second life, supporting families and communities across the UK and strengthening the circular economy by reducing waste and landfill. I hope very much that what the noble Baroness says is not the case. I understand the disappointment of some at not being eligible for this relief. It was important to maintain the structure of existing charity tax reliefs. However, as she asks, we will continue to monitor any potential impacts and accept the evidence. She might like to know that HMT officials will shortly be meeting with the sector to discuss this further.

I totally understand what the noble Baroness is saying. I do not think I said that it was not possible to do that; I said that we had not yet been presented with sufficient evidence to justify doing that. As I say, we will keep monitoring the situation carefully and we will maintain an open dialogue with the sector.

My Lords, the new VAT relief on business donations of goods to charity came into effect on 1 April this year and it is too soon yet to assess the impacts. We anticipate the relief will incentivise increased food donations to charities eligible for the relief, meaning increased donations reaching those in need. The CBI estimates that the relief will lead to an additional £72.5 million in total donations annually. We are monitoring any possible impacts on social supermarkets.

On the second point, the noble Baroness is quite right: it is important that midwives have that time. That is what we anticipate will be the case—I refer her to the forthcoming workforce plan, which will improve the situation. With regard to the position that the noble Baroness describes, I agree that this needs sorting out, and I recognise the figures that she has shared. That is why we have brought in the graduate guarantee scheme—so that we can get people from their training and education into the NHS and can ensure that midwives are recruited on the basis of looking to the future rather than of the existing headcount. So we are future-proofing this.

My Lords, the graduate guarantee creates additional temporary registered midwife roles and enables newly qualified midwives to apply to join the NHS workforce. This supports the transition from education to employment. Since September, over 850 of these roles have been created, backed by £8 million. This includes part-time and full-time jobs. NHS England is working closely with universities and employers to align graduate numbers with vacancies through improved workforce planning, enhanced support for students and co-ordinated local recruitment.

The considerations that the noble Baroness raises are pertinent. Through the 10-year plan and the workforce plan, we need to make sure that we have the right people in the right place. She raised the issue of new starters wanting to come into the profession, but we also have a huge issue with retention that we have to take very seriously. That is why the Government are committed to intense training and raising awareness of all the issues that, sadly, lead to maternal deaths and exacerbate morbidities. This is a very serious issue. Staff are pivotal, and the Government are working hard to make sure that we address these issues.

The Government is taking decisive action on obesity, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

As part of this, we will fulfil our commitment to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children aged under 16 years old, introducing the ban within this Parliament.

We ran a 12-week consultation, which was open from 3 September 2025 to 26 November 2025. The Department is currently reviewing all submissions to the consultation and will set out a formal consultation response, and further information on our timelines, in due course.

The Government continues to learn from the implementation of previous age-restricted sales legislation. We recognise the importance of clear guidance, proportionate enforcement arrangements, and ensuring legislation is responsive to evidence, development in products, sales channels, and consumer behaviour.

Any future age of sale measures for energy drinks will be designed with these considerations in mind. We are reviewing consultation responses and will set out next steps in due course. The consultation specifically asked for views on our proposals for how the age restrictions will be enforced and its impact on local government.

Decisions on resourcing and enforcement will be taken alongside wider policy design and parliamentary scrutiny.

The Government continues to learn from the implementation of previous age-restricted sales legislation. We recognise the importance of clear guidance, proportionate enforcement arrangements, and ensuring legislation is responsive to evidence, development in products, sales channels, and consumer behaviour.

Any future age of sale measures for energy drinks will be designed with these considerations in mind. We are reviewing consultation responses and will set out next steps in due course. The consultation specifically asked for views on our proposals for how the age restrictions will be enforced and its impact on local government.

Decisions on resourcing and enforcement will be taken alongside wider policy design and parliamentary scrutiny.

We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This means over half a million more disadvantaged children will be receiving the support they need in school to be healthy and get the most out of their education.

These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.

The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.

​We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot

Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.

The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.

​We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot

Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.