HC Deb 08 July 1971 vol 820 cc1500-1
9. Mr. Kaufman

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she will pay an official visit to the Ardwick division of Manchester

Mrs. Thatcher

I have no plans to do so at present.

Mr. Kaufman

Why does not the right hon. Lady have the courage to come to my constituency, where more than 1,000 children have stopped taking school meals since she put up the price, and explain to the parents of Ardwick why she has literally taken the food out of the mouths of their children.

Mrs. Thatcher

I have been to Manchester on many occasions, fortunately not in the company of the hon. Gentleman. As I explained in my answer to a previous Question, the price of the school meal now bears approximately the same relationship to average earnings as it did 16 years ago.