§ Major Lyonsasked the President of the Board of Education what progress is now being made in regard to the provision of school children's dinners and the erection and equipment of the requisite accommodation in co-operation with Government Departments and local authorities?
§ Mr. ButlerVery satisfactory progress is being made in the expansion of the school meals service. The returns of school dinners provided on a day in October, 1943, are not yet complete, but I872W have reason to anticipate that the total number of meals provided in grant-aided schools is now in the neighbourhood of 1,300,000. In the last three months my Department have approved some 1,500 proposals submitted by local education authorities for kitchens and canteens which, when completed, will provide meals for nearly one-quarter of a million additional children in public elementary schools.