Health written question – answered at on 30 January 2007.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what advice she issues to strategic health authorities on seeking advice from expert bodies when drawing up proposals on water fluoridation in their area;
(2) what water fluoridation projects (a) have been developed since 2003 and (b) are in the process of being developed in the (i) East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA), (ii) East of England SHA, (iii) London SHA, (iv) North East SHA, (v) North West SHA, (vi) South Centra SHA, (vii) South East SHA, (viii) South West SHA, (ix) West Midlands SHA and (x) Yorkshire and the Humber SHA; and what (A) advice and (B) support her Department has given the strategic health authorities in drawing up these plans.
In September 2005, the Department issued guidance to strategic health authority (SHA) and primary care trust chief executives on fluoridation of drinking water (Gateway reference 5136). The guidance included advice on the evidence base on fluoridation, the need for discussions with local water undertakers and with the Water Services Regulatory Authority, and the need to seek expert legal advice. The guidance also referred to "One in a Million—the facts about water fluoridation", published by the British Fluoridation Society, as a useful source of information in conducting public consultations on fluoridation schemes.
No SHA has yet reached the stage of making a formal announcement about a consultation. In 2005, the Department allocated £32,000 to the former Greater Manchester SHA to fund a technical feasibility study.
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