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School Meals

Volume 530: debated on Thursday 22 July 1954

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63.

asked the Minister of Education the total number of outbreaks of food poisoning in the schools meals service for 1952, 1953 and 1954 up to the latest available date in Warwickshire. Staffordshire, Worcester, Shropshire and Herefordshire.

My right hon. Friend is obtaining the information, and will write to the hon. Member.

64.

asked the Minister of Education to what extent, in fixing the unit of cost per meal for the school meals service, she takes into account the need to enable local education authorities to provide fresh vegetables and fruit when available.

In fixing the unit cost for food per school dinner the provision made by local education authorities in their estimates for expenditure on fresh vegetables and fruit when available in their areas at reasonable cost is accepted.

65.

asked the Minister of Education which local education authorities in respect of the last available year did not receive 100 per cent. grant for their expenditure on school meals; and what was the amount disallowed in each case.

In 1952–53 the expenditure of 40 local education authorities has not been fully covered by grant to the extent of a total amount of just over £49,000 out of a total gross expenditure for that year of over £41 million; 11 of these authorities did not have their estimated expenditure covered by the unit costs per meal fixed by my right hon. Friend under the Regulations.

Following is the list of the 40 authorities and the amounts of excess expenditure.

Authority

Expenditure

£

Bedfordshire50
Cambridgeshire3
Cumberland10
Cornwall652
Gloucestershire475
Herefordshire527
London7,995
Nottinghamshire1,013
Yorks—WestRiding934
Breconshire3,031
Monmouthshire3,471
Pembrokeshire1,287
Barnsley130
Barrow-in-Furness191
Birmingham2,447
Blackburn1,771
Bolton20
Bournemouth80
Brighton2
Croydon58
East Ham805
Exeter158
Gateshead102
Grimsby11
Leeds4,238
Lincoln353
Manchester711
Oldham3,673
Oxford1,488
Rochdale295
St. Helens649
Sheffield161
South Shields16
Smethwick1,698
Tynemouth135
West Bromwich163
West Ham481
Cardiff372
Merthyr Tydfil609
Swansea8,905
Total49,170