§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total yield of charges for school meals in 1973–74; what are the figures for the current financial year; and what has been the decline in the value of the £ sterling in the same period.
§ Miss Joan LestorReceipts from charges for school meals during financial year 1973–74, when the charge per meal was 12p, amounted to £101 million. Taking account of the upward trend in the number of pupils taking meals, it is estimated that the current charge of 15p per meal will yield about £145 million in 1975–76. Between the first half of 1973–74 and the first half of 1975–76 the General Index of Retail Prices rose by 46 per cent. and on that basis the purchasing power of the £ declined over the same period by 31.5 per cent.
771W
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total cost of free school meals during 1974–75; how many awards for free school meals were made; and of these how many went to families without entitlement to FIS, at the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Miss Joan LestorThe total cost in 1974–75 of providing school meals for pupils who received them free of charge is estimated at £45 million; £17 million of this is in respect of remitted charges. Information relating to the number of awards during the year is not available, but returns from authorities showed that, on a day in October 1974, 750,000 pupils were taking free school
PUPIL-TEACHER RATIOS IN MAINTAINED SCHOOLS A. ENGLAND 1950* 1960† 1970† 1947‡ Primary schools … … … … 31.1 29.4 27.5 24.9 Secondary schools … … … … 21.7 20.7 17.7 17.5
B. ENGLISH REGIONS 1970† 1974‡ Primary Secondary Primary Secondary North … … … 27.6 18.7 24.5 17.8 Yorkshire and Humberside … … … 27.5 18.5 24.4 17.9 North West … … … 28.8 18.2 25.7 17.5 East Midlands … … … 27.9 18.0 25.6 17.6 West Midlands … … … 28.0 17.9 25.6 17.4 East Anglia … … … 25.6 17.7 24.1 18.0 Greater London … … … 26.5 16.4 23.7 16.7 Other South East … … … 27.4 17.5 24.9 17.3 South West … … … 27.3 18.0 25.5 17.9 NOTES:
* Full-time teachers only.
† All teachers, including the full-time equivalent of part-time teachers.
‡ Qualified teachers only, including the full-time equivalent of part-time teachers.