§ Mr. MAINWARINGasked the President of the Board of Education whether he can state the total money cost to local authorities, within distressed and Special Areas of the country, for the provision of meals and other nourishment to schoolchildren during each of the last four years?
1460Wfive years 1932 to 1936 is classified as follows:
Mr. STANLEYThe following table gives the net expenditure on the provision of meals, milk, and other supplementary nourishment during the years in question of all the local education authorities in England and Wales whose areas are wholly or partly Special Areas as defined in the First Schedule to the Special Areas (Development and Improvement) Act, 1934. Fifty per cent. of this expenditure is met by grants from the Board of Education.
Net Expenditure. Year. £ 1932–33 98,619 1933–34 115,040 1934–35 117,572 1935–36 116,004 The slight decline in the expenditure during the financial year 1935–36 is due to the reduction in the price of milk under the Milk in Schools Scheme, which came into operation on 1st October, 1934. The number of children receiving free meals or milk was greater in 1935–36 than in 1934–35. The figures are confined to the Special Areas, as there is no precise definition of distressed areas as distinct from Special Areas.