§ Mr. G. MACDONALDasked the President of the Board of Education (1) the number of children attending elementary schols who were supplied with milk by local authorities in England and Wales on 30th June, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 1931; the number who received the milk free of charge; and the number who paid for the milk, giving separate figures for Lancashire;
(2) the quantity of milk supplied by the local authorities to children attending elementary schools during each of the five years ended 30th June, 1931; the quantity that was supplied free of charge; and the quantity that was paid for by the children, giving separate figures for Lancashire?
§ Mr. LEES-SMITHUntil May, 1930, the statistics obtained by the Board did not distinguish between the provision of milk and that of other meals, and I regret, therefore, that I am not able to give any figures for the earlier years mentioned in these questions. Following are the figures so far as they are available for the years 1930 and 1931:
1699W
Number of children supplied with milk by Local Education Authorities. — Week ending July 5th, 1930. Week ending July 4th, 1931. Free. For Payment. Total. Free. For Payment. Total. England and Wales 32,376 44,824 77,200 47,597 46,518 94,115 Lancashire (all L.E.As. within the geographical county). 1,678 61 1,739 4,029 49 4,078
Number of milk meals supplied by Local Education Authorities to children attending public elementary schools. Year ending July 4th, 1931. — Free. For Payment. Total. England and Wales 12,157,069 9,387,833 21,544,902 Lancashire (all L.E.As. within the geographical county). 368,212 14,214 382,426 NOTES. (i) The amount of milk given at each "meal" varies from one-third of a pint to one pint, but the normal provision is half a pint. (ii) The figures in both tables relate only to the supply of milk by local education authorities, and not to arrangements made by milk clubs, such as those organised by the National Milk Publicity Council, whose scheme is now understood to extend to upwards of 600,000 school children.