§ Sir G. Willsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many extra children he anticipates will be brought into the free school meals scheme as the result of the issue of his personal message to parents; what additional cost to the Exchequer this will involve; and whether he is satisfied that under present conditions the teaching staff is adequate to deal with this extra work.
§ Mr. Gordon Walker:I am not yet able to estimate how many additional children will receive free school meals as a result of my recent message to parents, nor how much this will cost. I do not think that significant extra work will be involved for teaching staff.