35. Miss CAZALETasked the President of the Board of Education whether he has yet been able to confer with the Minister of Agriculture with regard to the possibility of continuing the provision of milk to schoolchildren in holiday time; and, if so, what arrangements have been made?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Oliver Stanley)As stated in the reply which I gave on 6th July to my hon. Friend, the Member for Bradford East (Mr. Hepworth), it is expressly provided in the milk-in-schools scheme that it may operate throughout the holidays. The main difficulty is that the experiments which have been conducted in certain areas show that the great majority of children, who take milk on payment during term time, are unwilling to attend schools or centres for the purpose during the holidays. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and I are considering this difficulty but up to the present it has not been found possible to devise any method of overcoming it.
Miss CAZALETWill my right hon. Friend ask the many local authorities responsible to make experiments in this matter during the coming summer holidays?
§ Mr. T. JOHNSTONWill the right hon. Gentleman mind importing the Secretary of State for Scotland into the negotiations?
§ Mr. STANLEYI should not like to assume any responsibility for Scotland.
§ Mr. JOHNSTONWhy should these provisions be operated, or be attempted to be operated, in England and Wales alone?