§ MR. T. SNAPE (Lancashire, S. E., Hey wood)I beg to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education whether a sum of £25 a year is paid by the churchwardens to the managers of the Hawcoat Church of England School, Barrow-in-Furness on condition that they provide an organist for the parish church; whether this sum of £25 has been credited to the school accounts; whether, in consequence of this credit, deductions of grant under the 17s. 6d. limit, to which the school would otherwise have been liable, have been evaded; and, if so, whether he can state the total amount to which such deductions should have amounted; whether the schoolmaster's salary includes the sum of £25 for his services as organist; whether the managers have certified on Form IX. that the teacher's salary was for his services as teacher, and did not include any sum paid to him 1441 for any service in any other capacity; and, if the facts are as stated, what steps does the Department intend to take in the matter?
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (Mr. A. H. D. ACLAXD,) York, W.R., RotherhamThe attention of the Department was called last year by Her Majesty's Inspector to the inclusion in the master's salary of £25 for his services as organist, the same amount being paid by the churchwardens and credited to the school account. It appeared on investigation that this had been done for eight years; but it had not affected the limit of grant payable until 1893, when it resulted in an over-payment of £14 19s. This overpayment was deducted from last year's grant. Managers are required to certify on Form IX. that the sum entered as "teacher's salary" does not include any sum paid for service in another capacity. The managers in this case say that they acted in ignorance; and as the master has now ceased to be organist, and the churchwardens do not propose to continue the payment, no further steps appear to be required.