§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the working of the Education Act 1980 in respect of the extent to which local authorities are making use of the powers given to them by section 22 of that Act.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneOur objective under this section has been to enable local authorities to reduce expenditure on school meals and milk so that, within the Government's spending plans as a whole, they can maintain and improve the quality of education. Local authorities have not budgeted to achieve the necessary savings this year; and to the extent that this leads either to a reduction in the quality of education or to the Government's spending plans being exceeded, I 107W shall not be satisfied. We have asked local authorities to review their budgets for 1980–81; and I hope they will reexamine the scope for greater savings in this area.
§ 36. Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he proposes to take any steps to monitor the numbers of children who have continued to eat school dinners since the passing of the Education Act 1980.
§ Mr. Mark CarlisleI have decided that there should be an October census.