§ MR. HERBERT LEON (Bucks, N.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether, in the event of any County Councils ceasing to make use of their powers under the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act of 1890, for the furtherance of technical instruction, the Government will consider the advisability of amending the Law with regard to the distribution of the funds dealt with by that Act?
§ MR. SHAW LEFEVRENo legal obligation has been imposed on County Councils to apply the grants referred to in the question to technical education, though I cannot but think it was the intention of Parliament that they should do so, where practicable. I am glad to 531 say that, according to the latest Parliamentary Return on the subject, 54 out of the 62 County Councils were in 1893–4 applying the whole of these sums for purposes of technical and intermediate instruction, whilst the remainder of them were applying part of the amount to these purposes. Moreover, the Town Councils of 56 out of the 64 county boroughs were thus applying the whole of the amount, and seven a part of it. Under these circumstances, I may hope that legislation will not be needed to secure the application of these grants to the purposes of technical instruction.