§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in the Official Report the numbers and percentage of children claiming free school meals for each year from 1950.
§ Miss Joan LestorThe following table shows the number of pupils at maintained schools in England and Wales who received free school dinners on a day in the autumn term each year since 1956 and the percentage which these pupils represented of the number of pupils in attendance. Figures for the years before 1956 are not available.
Year Number of pupils receiving free dinners (000s) Percentage of pupils in attendance receiving free dinners 1956 … 216 3.4 1957 … 218 3.5 1958 … 238 3.7 1959 … 254 3.9 1960 … 247 3.8 1961 … 238 3.6 1962 … 260 4.0 1963 … 289 4.5 1964 … 281 4.3 1965 … 308 4.6 1966 … 330 4.8 1967 … 404 5.8 1968* … 841 11.7 1969 … 594 8.0 1970 … 627 8.3 1971 … 805 10.3 1972 … 850 10.7 1973 … 795 9.7 1974 … 750 9.1 * The high figures for 1968 reflect the concession, withdrawn after a year, under which all fourth and subsequent children in a family had entitlement to free school dinners.