§ SIR WALTER FOSTERI beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he has considered the advisability of waiving local inquiries by inspectors of the Local Government Board upon application from parish councils for leave to raise money by loan, when the amount is small and it can be shown that the County Council has held a satisfactory public inquiry into all the circumstances, and that there is no opposition to the proposals of the Parish Council?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARDThis question has been carefully considered by the Local Government Board, and they are of opinion that, as a general rule, it is necessary that before they sanction the raising of a loan by a Parish Council, a local inquiry should be held by an inspector of the Board. The Board have stated that there will be no objection to the attendance at this inquiry of a representative of the County Council when this is desired by the Council. It is certainly undesirable that there should be a double inquiry.