Mr. WESTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether necessitous children must now have a medical certificate before they can be supplied with milk by a local authority?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAMIt is presumed that this question refers primarily to the provision of milk for children attending public elementary schools. The method of selection at present varies in different areas, but the Board have urged that a medical basis should be adopted as being in accordance with the intention of Section 84 of the Education Act, 1921, and the most effective means of securing that school meals, whether in the form of solid food or milk, are supplied to those children who need them. It is not necessary for a medical recommendation to be given before the child is supplied with free milk, as children may be given milk provisionally pending a report by the school medical officer.