§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report his estimate for 1982–83 of (i) the amount which will be spent by local authorities in providing school meals, (ii) the revenue expected from those obliged to pay under the present rules, (iii) the number of children attending local authority schools and (iv) the approximate cost of providing an average main meal to a full and balanced nutritional standard.
§ Dr. BoysonIt is for local education authorities to decide on their level of expenditure on school meals and the charges to be made. However the Government's plans envisage that the net expenditure by local authorities on school meals in 1982–83 will be £314 million. Our latest forecast of the number of pupils attending maintained schools full-time in 1982–83 is 7.53 million. Since the404W Education Act 1980 came into force individual local authorities have been free to determine the nutritional standard of the meals they provide.