§ MR. H. C. RICHARDS (Finsbury, E.)To ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he will grant a Return showing, for the voluntary and board schools, the number of children withdrawn wholly or partially from religious education, under the conscience clause, in England and Wales.
17 (Answered by Mr. Balfour.)No information exists at the Board of Education as to the withdrawal of children from religious instruction at public elementary schools under the conscience clause, nor, having regard to the interests of the children and the expediency of preserving their unfettered freedom of withdrawal, would it seem desirable to make specific inquiries into the case of each child withdrawn at each of the 20,000 schools in the country. I may, however, observe that it appears from such information as is available from unofficial sources that the number of children withdrawn is a very small percentage of the five million children attending the schools.