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Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “up for that fight” over accusations Labour is embracing the “nanny state” as he announced plans for supervised toothbrushing in schools.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Labour leader said tooth decay was the top reason children between six and 10 go to hospital and that the government had to act.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Labour plan to run the scheme in breakfast clubs in all primary schools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Conservatives accused Labour of “borrowing” existing policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n- Children wait over year in pain for NHS tooth removal <\/li>\n
- Full extent of NHS dentistry shortage revealed<\/li>\n
- ‘Some six-year-olds have never seen a toothbrush’<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Rolling out a national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five-year-olds will cost \u00a33m, Labour said, and would be funded by ending the VAT exemption on private school fees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “We [have] already provided tool kits for local authorities to use for toothbrushing lessons across their local authority areas.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The government were also already “already funding breakfast clubs around the country”, Ms Atkins added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Speaking to the BBC, Ms Atkins said the government “very much believe in supporting our parents and supporting our families,” rather than mandating supervised sessions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “At present, the UK has some of the worst child health outcomes in Europe, and child health inequalities continue to widen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“It is therefore welcome to see the Labour party’s intention to publish a dedicated child health action plan, which outlines many of the calls paediatricians have been making repeatedly – including tackling paediatric waiting times, supporting the health prevention agenda and providing support for child mental health.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Labour’s Child Health Action Plan would also ban flavoured vapes aimed at children and implement the 21:00 watershed for junk food advertising on television.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The UK is estimated to have more obese children than France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n