§ Mr. Hastingsasked the Minister of Food what percentage of expectant mothers, nursing mothers, and young children, respectively, in England and Wales, received milk under the National Milk Scheme in 1947.
385W
§ Mr. StracheyThe latest available figures are for the week beginning 14th September, 1947. The percentage of expectant mothers who received milk under the National Milk Scheme was then 85 per cent., counting as possible beneficiaries all those within seven months of confinement. Nursing mothers as such do not receive priority supplies of liquid milk, but mothers who themselves feed their babies, are provided for by a priority allowance to the child, under 12 months old, of five pints per week, in addition to the child's normal priority allowance of seven pints, and to the mother's nonpriority386W allowance. Sixty-one per cent. of the children under one year old were estimated to be receiving the extra allowance. Of the estimated number of children aged less than five years and one month, 94 per cent. were registered for priority supplies of liquid milk; this figure included a small proportion of temporary duplicate registrations during removals from one area to another. The remaining 6 per cent. included those receiving national dried milk, children of self-suppliers, and children resident in institutions who were not personally registered for the milk they received.