§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions have taken place with education authorities concerning the introduction of "cook freeze" school meals as an alternative to conventional school meals; what is the estimated annual national saving that would result from this system; what is the estimated capital cost of constructing central freezing units; and what is the effect on the employment of women school meal workers.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonNo general discussions have taken place. A research project carried out between 1969 and 1973 by the Catering Research Unit of Leeds University in co-operation with the Leeds Local Education Authority and aided by grants from my Department investigated the technical and economic feasibility of introducing cook-freeze methods into the school catering service and compared the advantages and disadvantages of such a system with those446W of the normal type of service in which meals are prepared and cooked at individual schools. A full report of the project, which included an assessment of capital and revenue costings and information about the organisation and production of frozen meals, was published by the Catering Research Unit in 1973 and commended to authorities by my Department. It is for authorities to decide in the light of this report and of local circumstances whether and how to assess the costing and other implications of using cook-freeze methods. They may vary greatly from area to area and it is not possible to give any general estimate of the financial and other effects of adopting such methods.