§ Mr. T. Smithasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he will give a list of those local education authorities which are exercising their powers under Sections 82–84 of the Education Act, 1931, only to the extent of providing free milk for necessitous children?
Mr. LindsayAccording to the latest information available 121 local education authorities are exercising their powers under Sections 82–84 of the Education Act, 1921, only to the extent of providing free milk for necessitous children or, in a few cases, milk together with sandwiches, biscuits or other light refreshments, as distinct from ordinary solid meals. I am sending the hon. Member a list of these authorities.
During the interval since my reply to the hon. Member's question of 9th November last 13 authorities which did not provide free solid meals or milk have begun to provide free milk, 10 authorities which formerly provided free milk only have begun to provide free dinners, and two authorities have been amalgamated. There is therefore a net increase of two as compared with the figure of 119 which I gave in my previous answer.