HC Deb 03 December 1976 vol 921 cc273-4W
Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of children in regular receipt of free school meals and her Department's estimate of the number of children entitled to receive such meals; on what basis her Department's calculation is made; what are the total sums involved; and what were the corresponding figures in the past five years.

Miss Margaret Jackson

The school meals census in October 1975 showed that 784,000 pupils were receiving free meals. The estimated annual cost to public funds of remitting the meals charge was £22.8 million. Figures of pupils with an entitlement to free school meals are not known, but my Department estimates that the percentage of pupils who receive free school meals remains fairly constant at about 80 per cent. of those entitled to free meals. This calculation is based on information derived from supplementary benefit and family income supplement statistics and from analyses made by the Department of Health and Social Security of the family expenditure surveys.

The earlier figures are as follows:

MAINTAINED SCHOOLS (INCLUDING NURSERY AND SPECIAL) IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Year(October) Numbers of pupils receiving free school meals Estimated cost of meals charges remitted
000's £000's
1970 627 10,753
1971 805 18,354
1972 850 19,482
1973 795 18,126
1974 750 17,010

The charge for a school dinner was 1s. 9d. (8.75p) in 1970, 12p in 1971 to 1974 and 15p in 1975.

The figures relate to a day in October on which the school meals census was taken for the years in question.