HC Deb 18 December 1997 vol 303 cc253-4W
Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what advice he has issued to local education authorities about the inclusion of beef on the school menu. [21605]

Ms Estelle Morris

In March 1996, the Department issued to all schools and local education authorities in England a statement made by the then Secretary of State for Health, together with a statement by the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), about the implications of the evidence on BSE for children and for school meal provision.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what statistics his Department collates as to which countries supply beef to British schools. [21602]

Ms Estelle Morris

The Department does not collect this information.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of schools which have removed beef from the menu. [21604]

Ms Estelle Morris

The content of school meals is a matter for individual local education authorities and grant-maintained schools, and the Department has not collected information on or made estimates of the number of schools not serving beef.