A mum whose five-year-old son died after suffering a reaction to milk says the launch of the UK's first National Allergy Strategy "will save lives". Campaigners, clinicians, charities and patients have created a roadmap to improve protections and care for millions of people. They are urging the Government to "make this vision a reality" to better support the 39% of children and 30% of adults who live with allergies.

Helen Blythe has spent the last two years helping to shape the strategy after her son Benedict's death. She said: "This is a once-in-a-generation strategy, to have something that lays out so clearly - in a way that the Government can absolutely action - what will make the country safer for children with allergies. It's now for the Government to listen, to act, and to make the changes."

The strategy is also backed by Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, whose daughter Natasha died aged 15 after a reaction to sesame seeds in a baguette that was not properly labelled.

Tanya, who founded The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: "The need for better allergy care in this country is unequivocal; there is a postcode lottery of care, insufficient numbers of allergy doctors, long waiting times for allergy testing and service gaps.

"The allergy community has come together to develop solutions. We now need leadership from the Government to make this vision a reality, including the appointment of a national lead to oversee allergy services."

Benedict was allergic to cow's milk, eggs, nuts, sesame, soya, chickpeas and kiwi. An inquest last year heard he vomited twice before collapsing at school in December 2021.

The school had not followed a plan agreed with his parents to protect him, and staff were slow to identify his symptoms.

Helen successfully campaigned for the introduction of Benedict's Law, a set of measures for schools that included mandatory allergy policies, staff training in recognising and responding to anaphylaxis, and access to emergency medication.

The changes were included in an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is in the final parliamentary stages.

Helen said: "From this September, children who are starting school with allergies will have a safer education system than there ever has been before.

"One of the things we found at the inquest was that, had all of the things that we were asking for been in place, he may still be with us. We hope that there will not be another family that's in our position, as a result of it coming into law."

The National Allergy Strategy calls for the full implementation of Benedict's Law and makes other wide-ranging recommendations across healthcare, prevention, safety in public settings, and research into allergies.

These include steps to make educational settings, workplaces, food outlets and other public spaces safer and more inclusive.

It also calls for greater early-life intervention to reduce the development of allergies, based on research showing that introducing certain foods to an infant's diet may help prevent allergies.

And the Government is being urged to support the next generation of allergy researchers and accelerate the delivery of new diagnostics and treatments.

Helen said: "The strategy will save lives and potentially reduce the number of really distressing allergic reactions.

"We focus a lot on the fatalities, and that's right, but [reactions are] also incredibly distressing for individuals and can cause anxiety, the fear of that happening again.

"I don't think you can ever fully prevent all tragedies. My hope is that it reduces the chance of them happening."

Other contributors to the strategy include Allergy UK, Anaphylaxis UK and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We know allergies can impact sufferers' day-to-day lives and that for some, they can be very dangerous.

"We are committed to improving care for people with allergies, and that is why we are working with a range of partners and experts, including members of the National Allergy Strategy Group, to consider how allergy care and support could be improved, including considering the recommendations in the National Allergy Strategy."