§ Mr. Swinglerasked the Minister of Education how many gallons of milk per month were distributed to, and how many meals per day were served in, schools in England and Wales during the first quarter of 1947, by comparison with the same quarter of 1939.
§ Mr. TomlinsonI regret that comparable quarterly figures are not available, and that the returns obtained in February, 1947, were rendered unreliable by the severe weather. For the year 1946 the monthly consumption of school milk averaged 3,544,000 gallons, including the consumption at the independent schools, which were admitted to the scheme in 1942. The average monthly consumption in the year preceding the war was approximately 2,250,000 gallons. The daily number of children having dinner at grant-aided schools in October, 1946, was 2,252,000, and the corresponding figure in 1939, before the outbreak of the war, is roughly estimated at 250,000.