§ MR. HAZELL (Leicester)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Bethnal Green Board of Guardians has reported that, having served out to the children under their care the exact quantity of food ordered by the Local Government Board, and having carefully collected and measured the surplus unconsumed, they found there was a waste of no less than 190 gallons of bread, meat, potatoes, and milk during the week ended 30th November 1898 alone, and that the waste of milk only for the last three weeks of December 1898 was shown by careful measurement to amount to 178 gallons; 138 and if he is aware that the Chorlton Board of Guardians has complained of waste in the same way, and reported that, by disregarding the orders of the Local Government Board for a certain period, a saving of 40 per cent. of food was effected without stinting any of the children in any way; and whether, as this waste is due to the want of regard paid in the recognised dietary to the individual appetites and health of the children, it is the intention of the Board to carry out the recommendations of the Committee on Workhouse Dietary appointed by the Department on 30th June 1897, which Committee issued a detailed Report, indicating the line of reform to prevent such waste on 17th June last?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. T. W. RUSSELL, Tyrone, S.)The attention of the Local Government Board has been called to the cases referred to in the Question. The Board propose to carry out the recommendations of the Committee on Workhouse Dietaries, and the matter is now receiving their attention. It may be added, as regards the Bethnal Green case, that on 27th January last the Board informed the guardians that they were prepared to assent to the arrangements specified in paragraph 20 of the Report of the Committee (which deals with the service of food to children in schools) being adopted at the schools belonging to the guardians, provided that the guardians would give an assurance that the terms of the paragraph would be fully carried out.