§ MR. RUTHERFORD (Lancashire, Darwen)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Hoard whether he is aware that the boroughs within the administrative county of Lancashire do not receive by 53 per cent. their rateable proportion of the money under the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890, devoted to technical instruction from the Lancashire County Council; and whether he will take steps to ensure that all boroughs within counties are paid or credited with their proper shares of the grant in proportion to their rateable values in accordance with the Act?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARDI am aware that it has been stated that if the grant received by the county council for tech- 1162 nical instruction is distributed on the basis of rateable value, the proportion to be received by the boroughs will be increased. I am advised that the Act does not require that it should be distributed according to rateable value, and that the basis of distribution rests with the county council. The subject of the allocation of the grant is under the consideration of the Technical Instruction Committee of the county council, and it is a matter on which I have no power to give instructions or to take any action.