To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the administrative costs of the Welfare Foods Scheme; [120259](2) what assessment he has made of the take-up of the Welfare Foods Scheme; [120260](3) what assessment has been made of the likely take-up of schemes to provide Welfare Foods under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, Part 5; [120262](4) what assessment has been made of administrative costs of the Welfare Foods Scheme under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, Part 5. [120263]

The Welfare Food Scheme currently costs £142 million per annum. Administration costs total £17 million, including a £7 million block allocation to the National Health Service.An assessment of take-up is provided in Chapter 6 of Report 51: Scientific Review of the Welfare Food Scheme by the Panel on Child and Maternal Nutrition of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (Ref: DH RSS51, 2002), copies of which are available in the Library.Proposals for reform were published for consultation in October 2002 and secured wide support. Details of the reformed scheme will be published by the end of 2003, and draft regulations will be consulted on in 2004.