§ MR. EDMUND ROBERTSON (Dundee)To ask the First Lord of the Treasury, whether ho will lay upon the Table copies of the precedents of trust deeds for voluntary schools settled by the Education Department under the Revised Code of 1870 and previous codes.
(Answered by Mr. A. J. Balfour.) There is no objection to laying copies of the precedents of trust deeds for voluntary schools referred to in the Question. But it should be clearly understood that it was only in certain cases where building grants were applied for, that the Education Department are aware these trust deeds wore employed. Of the existing 14,294 voluntary schools only 5,347 received a building grant. "What proportion of these 5,347 schools actually accepted those trust deeds cannot be ascertained. Thus it cannot be concluded with confidence that the trust deeds of any large number of the existing voluntary schools correspond with the particular model deeds which will be laid in response to this Question. I may add in connection with the subject of building grants that a statement, showing the details of all building grants awarded and the regulations under which the awards were made, will be laid on the Table in the course of the next few days.