§ 25. Mrs. Mannasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in view of the cost of the service, he will consider introducing legislation to enable him to make grants to local authorities for the Meals on Wheels service to aged people.
§ Mr. WoodburnThis service is not a direct charge on local authorities although they are encouraged to subsidise voluntary organisations for such purposes. I have no evidence that authorities are finding this a heavy burden and I do not contemplate any early revision of the Exchequer grant to their funds.
§ Mrs. MannDo I understand that local authorities in Scotland are already empowered to provide this service, and how many are doing so?
§ Mr. WoodburnAs my hon. Friend knows, I recently sent out a circular to local authorities asking them to use their good offices to encourage voluntary organisations to undertake assistance to old people and look after their welfare generally, including this particular service.