§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schoolchildren in England are entitled to free school meals; what proportion of the total school population in England this represents; and if he will list the number and proportion of schoolchildren in England entitled to free school meals within each education authority.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe actual number of children entitled to free meals is not known but, based on analysis of data from the 1976 family expenditure survey, it is estimated that about 1.09 million children in England and Wales were entitled to free school meals. A separate figure for Wales is not available. This
Age 17 at 31 December Age,16 but over school leaving age Academic year Number (000s) Percentage of population Number (000s) Percentage of population 1968–69 … … … 163 24.7 — — 1969–70 … … … 173 26.2 — — 1970–71 … … … 182 27.2 — — 1971–72 … … … 188 28.1 — — 1972–73 … … … 192 28.7 — — 1973–74 … … … 196 28.4 174 36.0 1974–75 … … … 206 28.9 189 38.1 1975–76 … … … 226 30.8 211 41.9 1976–77 … … … 235 31.8 218 42.3 1977–78 … … … 245 32.4 221 41.6