Britain is failing its babies over formula prices

Is there any prospect more terrifying than bringing a child into this world, only to be unable to feed them? This is the point at which a growing number of parents in Britain find themselves, following baby formula prices skyrocketing by 25 per cent since just last year.

The spike is so large that some have turned to watering down what they can buy, or replacing it with condensed or cows’ milk (both highly dangerous to newborns), turning to the black market, or stealing from supermarket shelves. In spite of doctors’ warnings that this is a “national crisis,” there has been no promise of change from the Government, nor the formula industry capitalising on anguished parents’ needs, nor the charities insisting ‘breast is best’ so loudly that food banks are turning away vital donations. One mother’s recently launched crowdfunding campaign, which has raised £9,000, is currently the only hope for some.

When confronted with this grim reality last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “sorry” that people were resorting to stealing formula (tubs have since been placed behind the tills in glass cabinets, in some supermarkets), but said there was “help available” for those struggling. Where? I have spoken to parents across the UK whose attempts to give unused formula to food banks have been rejected; the result, they have been told, of local authorities’ hardline interpretation of Unicef guidelines backing breastfeeding. Meanwhile, baby banks — which provide essentials like clothes and nappies — often operate without a food licence, meaning formula is red-listed for them, too. Failure to change any of these guidelines means babies are needlessly going without food at all.

Companies continue to line their pockets with parents’ desperation; the crisis has led many to buy ‘hungry baby formula’, a costlier kind which promises to keep babies fuller for longer — yet with no scientific backing for these claims, it is making those in already fraught situations even worse off.

It is hard to understand how many more harrowing stories and shocking figures are needed to make Sunak feel “sorry” enough to do something. Of all the things 2023 will be remembered by, it being the year Britain became unable to feed its children is a legacy no government should be willing to accept.