asked the Secretary of State for Wales what response he has made to the request by the Schools

MAINTAINED SCHOOL INCLUDING NURSERY AND SPECIAL SCHOOLS
		October 1976	May 1977	October 1977
i. Pupils in attendance	…	510,690	501,950	504,188
ii. Numbers taking dinners	…	333,322	319,040	299,749
iii. Proportion taking dinners	…	65·3%	63·6%	59·5%
iv. Numbers taking free dinners	…	59,893	61,620	70,425
a. as proportion of those in attendance	…	11·7%	12·3%	14·07
b. as proportion of dinners served	…	18·0%	19·3%	23·5%

On the day of the census school dinners were taken by 68·7 per cent. of all pupils present in primary schools—72·5 per cent. last year—and by 48·2 per cent. in secondary schools—55 per cent. last year. The number of children bringing their own food to school rose from 46,100 in October 1976 to 67,780 in October 1977—an increase of 47 per cent. 15·2 per cent. of secondary school pupils brought their own food compared with 12·5 per cent. of primary pupils—12 per cent. and 6·9 per cent. respectively the previous year.A detailed statement of the returns from local education authorities on which these figures are based is being placed in the Library.