§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the notional amount deducted from the wages of kitchen staff and midday supervisors to take into account the value of the free school dinner.
§ Dr. BoysonI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to his question on 11 June—[vol.968, c.28.]
MAINTAINED SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND AND WALES Average cost per meal Percentage of total average cost Food Salaries and wages Other overheads Total Food Salaries and wages Other overheads pence pence pence pence per cent per cent. per cent. 1965–66 … … 4.52 4.78 2.12 11.42 39.6 41.9 18.5 1966–67 … … 4.79 5.02 2.23 12.04 39.7 41.8 18.5 1967–68 … … 4.88 5.23 2.17 12.28 39.7 42.6 17.7 1968–69 … … 4.96 5.76 2.32 13.04 38.0 44.2 17.8 1969–70 … … 5.23 6.36 2.47 14.06 37.2 45.2 17.6 1970–71 … … 5.57 7.16 2.68 15.41 36.2 46.5 17.3 1971–72 … … 6.36 9.51 3.28 19.15 33.2 49.7 17.1 1972–73 … … 7.09 10.66 3.38 21.13 33.6 50.5 15.9 1973–74 … … 8.93 12.87 3.48 25.28 35.3 50.9 13.8 1974–75 … … 10.51 17.26 4.00 31.77 33.1 54.3 12.6 1975–76 … … 13.02 21.14 4.97 39.13 33.3 54.0 12.7 1976–77 … … 14.64 24.75 5.91 45.30 32.3 54.6 13.1 1977–78 … … 15.51 29.15 7.24 51.93 29.9 56.2 13.9
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish figures, for each year for which there are records available, showing (a) the total annual gross cost of
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SCHOOL MEALS: ENGLAND AND WALES Total annual gross cost Subsidy on the service* Subsidy as percentage of gross cost £'000 £'000 per cent. 1947–48 … … … 25,165 16,341 64.9 1948–49 … … … 29,459 19,452 66.0 1949–50 … … … 32,582 22,025 67.6 1950–51 … … … 32,094 20,739 64.6 1951–52 … … … 37,524 22,750 60.6 1952–53 … … … 41,347 25,917 62.7 1953–54 … … … 40,798 23,270 57.0 1954–55 … … … 44,542 26,029 58.4 1955–56 … … … 50,127 30,117 60.1 1956–57 … … … 56,463 33,542 59.4 1957–58 … … … 56,838 31,059 54.6 1958–59 … … … 60,223 33,298 55.3 1959–60 … … … 64,829 35,097 54.1 1960–61 … … … 67,994 37,975 55.9 1961–62 … … … 74,440 42,408 57.0 1962–63 … … … 78,354 46,060 58.8 1963–64 … … … 80,968 46,919 58.0 1964–65 … … … 91,190 53,840 59.0 1965–66 … … … 100,665 62,130 61.7 1966–67 … … … 110,244 70,188 63.7 1967–68 … … … 125,398 81,377 64.9
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing the average cost per meal of (a) food, (b) wages and salaries and (c) other expenditure incurred by the school meals service in each year since 1965–66, and showing each as a percentage of the total average cost per meal.
§ Dr. BoysonThe information is as follows:
school meals, (b) the cost of the school meals subsidy and (c) the subsidy as a percentage of the gross cost.
§ Dr. BoysonThe information is as follows:
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SCHOOL MEALS: ENGLAND AND WALES continued Total annual gross cost Subsidy on the service* Subsidy as percentage of gross cost £'000 £'000 per cent. 1968–69 … … … 133,016 73,919 55.6 1969–70 … … … 143,347 80,432 56.1 1970–71 … … … 160,886 87,037 54.1 1971–72 … … … 180,531 96,429 53.4 1972–73 … … … 216,765 123,076 56.8 1973–74 … … … 272,740 171,438 62.9 1974–75 … … … 365,761 255,577 69.9 1975–76 … … … 471,047 328,284 69.7 1976–77 … … … 528,324 391,438 74.1 1977–78 … … … 536,760 373,213 69.5 *Subsidy on the school meals service i.e. net expenditure on the service comprises the net cost of providing meals for pupils and adults both those who pay and those who receive free meals.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the ratio between adults receiving free school dinners and pupils taking dinners for each year since May 1968 when free dinners for supervisors and supervisory teachers started.
§ Dr. BoysonThe information is as follows:
MAINTAINED SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND Year (May) Number of free adult meals per 100 pupil takers 1968 7.96 1971 10.53 1976 9.5 1977 9.73 1978 10.13 NOTE. Mid-day supervisory assistants and teachers supervising pupils during the mid-day break were receiving free meals before 1968; the recommendations of the working party on teachers and the school meals service, accepted in 1968 by all bodies represented on it, were intended to regularise the position.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many adults not connected with the operation of the school meals service have taken free meals during each year since 1968.
§ Dr. BoysonThis information is not available.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many kitchen staff, supervisors and others are employed (a) full time and (b) part time by the school meals service; 470W what are their wages; and what is the total wage bill;
(2) how many kitchen and canteen staff, midday supervisors and administration staff were employed in the education service in 1960, 1970, and at the latest date for which figures are available;
(3) how many (a) pupils, (b) teachers and (c) kitchen and canteen staff, midday supervisors and others, including administrative staff, took school meals in 1960, 1970 and at the latest date available; and what was the total number employed in kitchens and canteens in each year.
§ Dr. BoysonMy Department has no information about the number of staff employed in the school meals service. National wage rates are set by the relevant national joint council for local authorities' services; full details are available in the Library. The total wage bill for staff employed in the school meals service in 1977–78 was £295 million. Information about the number of meals taken is contained in my replies today to other questions on this subject from my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing the number of children and of adults taking school dinners for each year since 1945, and showing the number of children as a percentage of the total attending school.
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Dr. Boyson: The information is as follows:
MAINTAINED SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND Year Number of Pupils Taking Meals 000's per cent. of Pupils Present Total Adults taking meals 000's (October except where otherwise indicated) 1947 2,346 50.5 1948 2,539 52.3 1949 2,646 53.0 1950 2,556 50.3 1951 2,636 50.1 1952 2,811 51.5 1953 2,558 45.4 1954 2,671 46.1 1955 2,883 48.7 1956 2,869 48.0 1957 2,675 46.1 1958 2,911 48.0 1959 3,046 50.0 1960 3,211 52.8 1961 3,359 54.4 1962 3,444 56.5 1963 3,630 59.5 1964 3,854 62.4 1965 4,112 65.7 1966 4,385 68.7 1967 4,571 69.8 MAY 1968 4,465 66.9 426 1968 4,736 70.4 1969 4,887 70.5 1970 4,874 68.3 MAY 1971 3,952 54.3 472 1971 4,411 60.3 1972 4,803 64.4 1973 5,115 66.4 1974 5,440 70.2 1975 5,552 70.3 1976 5,503 69.4 543 1977 4,855 61.6 536 1978 5,096 65.9 530 Note: Apart from two censuses in 1968 and 1971 figures of adult meals are not available prior to 1976.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing the number of each of kitchen staff, midday supervisors, teachers and other adults who took school dinners (a) free of charge
1968* 1971* 1977* 1978* Kitchen and canteen staff free … … … … … 140,963 150,147 176,031 168,564 on payment … … … — — — — Mid-day supervisory assistants free … … … … … 62,057 88,900 100,101 97,683 on payment … … … — — — — Teachers free … … … … … 141,598 162,792 227,256 222,195 on payment … … … 58,698 44,888 15,244 14,115 Other adults free … … … … … 10,847 14,125 20,683 21,322 on payment … … … 12,281 10,723 6,681 5,794 *On a day in May. † On a day in October.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the average cost per meal of food
472Wand (b) on payment, in 1968, 1971, 1977 and the latest date for which the figures are available.
§ Dr. BoysonThe following information relates to maintained schools in England:
provided by the school meals service in each year since 1965–66; and if he will compare the increased expenditure with 473W the index of food prices over the same period.
§ Dr. BoysonThe information is as follows:
SCHOOL MEALS (ENGLAND AND WALES) Food cost per meal General Index Retail Prices (Food) 1965–66 1965–66 Year Pence =100 =100 1965–66 4.52 100 100 1966–67 4.79 106 104 1967–68 4.88 108 107 1968–69 4.96 110 111 1969–70 5.23 116 120 1970–71 5.57 123 128 1971–72 6.36 141 143 1972–73 7.09 157 155 1973–74 8.93 198 182 1974–75 10.51 233 216 1975–76 13.02 288 272 1976–77 14.64 324 326 1977–78 15.51 343 374
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what has been the average charge levied, where applicable, for adults taking school dinners in each year since 1968; and how this charge compares with the cost of the meal;
(2) what is the full cost of a school meal when a charge is made to an adult taking a meal other than when on supervisory duties.
§ Dr. BoysonMy Department does not collect this information. For 1978–79 the information is included in the Education Estimates statistics published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, a copy of which is available in the Library. This shows an estimated average charge of 46.9p compared with an estimated average gross meal cost of 49.7p for England and Wales.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many times a week children eating school
Full-time and part-time pupils under 5 in maintained schools Number As percentage of the estimated population aged 3–4 Years Nursery schools and nursery classes of primary schools … … 5,679 21 per cent. Other classes in primary schools … … … … … 4,195 16 per cent.