§ Mr. Biffenasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what amount of public funds devoted to education arises from grants to individuals; and how this figure approximately divides between universal benefits and those given after some selective tests.
§ Mr. CroslandTotal public current expenditure on education in England and Wales in 1965–66 was £1,307 million of which £174 million represented grants to persons, including benefits in kind. School milk (£14 million) is provided free to all pupils taking it. Virtually all the other grants and benefits depend on parental income, but no pupils taking school meals (£66 million) pay more than is. With the principal exceptions of school maintenance allowances (£1 million), school meals and school milk, all the grants and benefits also depend on some non-financial selective test, e.g. admission to a university.