§ 7. Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those education authorities no longer providing school meals for all children who choose to have them.
§ Mr. BrookeSchool meals are available in all local education authorities, but in Merton they are provided through a contractor; in some schools in Hereford and Worcester through self-help groups based on the schools; and in primary schools in Dorset and Lincolnshire only packed meals are provided and only to those entitled to free meals.
§ Mr. DobsonWill the Minister confirm that since 1979 the percentage of children taking school meals has declined from more than two thirds to under a half? Will he also confirm that this is damaging the diet and health of many of the worst-off children?
§ Mr. BrookeI confirm the first figure given by the hon. Gentleman, but not the second.
§ Mr. GreenwayHave not school meals contained far too much stodge and involved far too much waste for many years, and does my hon. Friend agree that the most expensive food is not necessarily the best for children? Is it not now time to take a careful look at the nutritional content of food provided to schoolchildren, whether it is provided publicly or by private contract?
§ Mr. BrookeThe DHSS has undertaken the schoolchildren's dietary survey, and I understand that the results will be available later this year.
§ Mr. CanavanWill the Minister issue a directive to all education authorities to follow the good example of those Labour-controlled education authorities which are offering free school meals to all the children of miners on strike, or will the Department of Education and Science follow the bad example of the Prime Minister and the DHSS and use starving children as political pawns in an industrial dispute?
§ Mr. BrookeNo.