Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children (a) were eligible to receive free milk under the Free Nursery Milk scheme and (b) received free milk under the Free Nursery Milk scheme in each year since 2010.

The information is not available in the format requested. The Department does not collect information about the number of children under the age of five who attend childcare settings and who may therefore be eligible for the Nursery Milk Scheme.

The Department also does not collect information about the number of children who receive milk under the Nursery Milk Scheme. Reimbursement is made for approximately 235 million portions, or 78.3 million pints of milk per year, and approximately 47,000 settings are registered with the Nursery Milk Reimbursement Unit.