asked the Secretary of Education and Science what are the responsibilities of teachers in supervising school meals; in what way the Government intend to change these responsibilities; how much money could be saved if teachers took on total responsibility for this supervision; and to what number of teaching jobs this saving corresponds.

Under the terms of a report of a working party published in 1968 and endorsed by all the bodies represented,

"The head teacher must retain overall responsibility for the conduct of the school meal, just as he does for all that takes place in and about the school, and there is a professional responsibility on the teaching staff as a whole to support the head teacher in fulfilling these responsibilities".

Any change in these responsibilities would be a matter for the representative bodies of the local authorities and the teachers to consider. The cost of employing about 100,000 midday supervisory assistants, not all of whom supervise the school meal, is currently about £46 million annually, but it is not possible to say how much money might be saved if teachers took on this supervision nor to what number of teaching jobs this saving might correspond.