§ SIR H. BEMROSE (Derby)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the City of London and St. Saviour's Guardians are proposing to increase their buildings at the Hanwell Schools at a cost of £6,545, and that the Marylebone Guardians propose to spend an estimated sum of £12,000 on the enlargement of the premises at the Southall Schools; and, whether, in view of his statement on 1st February 1897, that the Local Government Board are declining to sanction proposals which would have the effect of extending the large schools, he will take steps to prevent the above-named expenditure?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARDI am aware of the proposals referred to in the first paragraph of the Question. The object of the new buildings at Hanwell is to afford improved school-room accommodation for infants who are in the schools, and before sanctioning the plans the Local Government Board informed the managers that it must be distinctly understood that no additional dormitory accommodation was to be provided, and that no increase would be allowed in the number of children which the school would accommodate. The buildings to be erected at Southall will provide a new infirmary for the children in the school and separate blocks of Probationary Wards. But they will not add to the number of children certified for the school. The school in question is not one of the larger schools, and there is nothing that I am aware of in these proposals which is inconsistent with my statements in 1897.