§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish a table showing the number of children and the percentage of children receiving free school meals in each year from 1946 to 1976.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThe 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 in each year since 1956 and the percentage which these pupils represented of the number 369W of pupils in attendance. Figures for earlier years are not available.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish a table showing the number of children and the percentage of children receiving free school milk in each year from 1946 to 1976.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThe following table shows the number of pupils at maintained schools in England and Wales who received free school milk on a day in the Autumn term in each year since 1950 and the percentage which these pupils represented of the number of pupils in attendance. Figures for earlier years are not available.
370W
Year (October) Number of pupils receiving free milk 000's Percentage of pupils in attendance receiving free milk per cent. 1950 … 4,581 85.2 1951 … 4,692 84.3 1952 … 4,881 84.5 1953 … 5,069 84.9 1954 … 5,150 84.8 1955 … 5,321 84.9 1956 … 5,361 83.7 1957 … 5,135 83.6 1958 … 5,467 84.2 1959 … 5,480 83.9 1960 … 5,349 82.1 1961 … 5,443 82.4 1962 … 5,387 82.5
1963 … 5,386 82.4 1964 … 5,439 82.4 1965 … 5,419 81.0 1966 … 5,478 80.2 1967 … 5,546 79.3 1968 … 4,056 56.6 1969 … 4,174 56.6 1970 … 4,275 56.3 1971 … 1,946 25.0 1972 … 2,023 25.5 1973 … 2,019 24.6 1974 … 2,016 24.5 1975 … 2,014 24.0 1976 … 1,966 23.3 NOTES:
In 1968 free milk was withdrawn from pupils in secondary schools.
In 1971 free milk was withdrawn from junior pupils in primary schools except where a school medical officer certified that milk was needed on health grounds.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will publish a table showing the net cost of (a) free school meals, and (b) free school milk in each year from 1946 to 1976.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonFigures for free school meals before 1956–57 and for free school milk before 1952–53 are not available. The following table gives the net cost in subsequent years for maintained schools in England and Wales:
Financial Year Net cost of free school dinners £ million Net cost of free school milk £ million 1952–53 … — 9.5 1953–54 … — 10.1 1954–55 … — 10.3 1955–56 … — 10.8 1956–57 … 1.7 11.5 1957–58 … 2.1 11.5 1958–59 … 2.3 11.2 1959–60 … 2.5 11.6 1960–61 … 2.4 10.9 1961–62 … 2.3 11.5 1962–63 … 2.5 11.7 1963–64 … 2.8 11.8 1964–65 … 2.8 13.1 1965–66 … 3.0 13.2 1966–67 … 3.1 13.3 1967–68 … 4.0 15.0 1968–69 … 12.2 12.2 1969–70 … 8.4 11.4 1970–71 … 10.8 12.9 1971–72 … 18.4 9.4 1972–73 … 19.5 7.1 1973–74 … 18.1 7.2 1974–75 … 17.0 6.3 1975–76 … 22.9 9.6 NOTES:
The numbers of pupils receiving free school milk are available from 1950 onwards; a separately identifiable cost is available only from 1952–53.
The abnormally high cost of free school meals in 1968–69 reflects the concession, withdrawn after a year, whereby all fourth and subsequent children in a family had entitlement to free school meals.