Keir Starmer has said he is “ready for battle” to defend the “nanny state” as he announced plans to improve the health of children under a Labor government, including supervised teeth-brushing in schools.
The Labor leader said children are “probably the biggest victims” of the Tories’ tenacity in politics over the past 14 years, adding that if the Government were a parent they could be accused of neglect.
“I know we have to address this issue of the nanny state,” he told reporters ahead of a visit to a children’s hospital. “The moment you do something about children’s health, people say: ‘You’re going the way of the nanny state.’ We want to fight that battle.”
Starmer wrote for the Guardian: “More and more children are becoming unhealthy: two in five leave primary school overweight. But most devastating of all is that the main reason for young children being admitted to hospital is for rotten teeth extraction – because it is so difficult to get dental treatment from the NHS before tooth decay starts.
“And incredibly, after fourteen years of Tories, the increase in life expectancy has come to a standstill.”
The height of the average British five-year-old girl has fallen by 27 places in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rankings over the past thirty years, and that of boys by 33 places, with Britain estimated more obese children than France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. In addition, around 250,000 British children are now on mental health waiting lists.
Labour’s action plan includes a 9pm ban on junk food adverts, a ban on vape adverts aimed at children, a free breakfast club in every primary school, better access to mental health care, shorter waiting times for hospital care for children and ensuring more dental staff. dates.
Starmer said his plans, which would be introduced during the first term of a Labor government, were just the “first steps” needed to improve the health of British children. “We recognize that this will take time, and we are not pretending that everything can be turned around in weeks or months.”
The Labor leader, who will make fortnightly visits across the country to outline the details of his five missions to the government, said supervised teeth brushing for three to five year olds was necessary as the biggest cause of hospital admissions into the age 10 is rotten teeth.
“I don’t think you can just say, ‘Well, that’s none of our business.’ It is our business because it concerns the child’s health. But once your child is hospitalized, it also costs taxpayers a fortune,” he added.
“I’m not saying it’s the state and not the parents, it should be both, but just walking on the other side and saying, ‘It’s not our responsibility, who cares if six to ten year olds do that? to the hospital with tooth decay?’ I am ready for that fight.”
He said critics of state intervention had to explain how they wanted to cut taxes because health care bills “will never go down” if children are in hospital with dental problems.
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Under Labour's plans, which Starmer said had been fully budgeted, mental health support would be provided in every school, there would be community mental health centers aimed at under-25s and 8,500 new mental health professionals are recruited.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the plans, but added: “All of this must be properly resourced – with enough staff and funding to ensure these promises become a reality, and a sensible definition of expectations. in schools, healthcare and parents.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: “Labour's focus on and proposals for greater mental health support is welcome, but we must recognize that significant investment will be needed to improve health - and rebuild support services that have been destroyed so far. which has been so eroded over the past ten years.”
British Dental Association chairman Eddie Crouch said: “Supervised brushing is a tried and tested policy that, according to the government's own models, pays for itself. It is a scandal that decay remains the main reason for hospital admissions among young children. Prevention is not only better than cure, it is also cheaper.”