§ MR. LANE-FOXI beg to ask the President of the Board of Education how it is proposed to enforce the undertaking or contract of a teacher, express or implied, to give religious instruction, having regard to the words of Section 7 (1) of the Education Bill.
† See reply to Colonel Walker, Lancashire, Widnes ((4)Debates, clix., 1427).
§ MR. BIRRELLIt is no part of the duties of the Board of Education to arrange or to enforce contracts between teachers and the local authorities who appoint them, nor to give legal advice to either parties beforehand on the remedies open to them for breaches of contract. Presumably any contracts that are drawn in accordance with the law will be subject to the usual legal sanctions, and it will be for both parties to take care that no contracts are entered into which would be contrary to any provisions of the law in regard to what may and what may not in future properly be required as obligatory duties of candidates for teaching posts.
§ MR. LANE-FOXAre not existing contracts to be continued after the new Act comes into force?
§ MR. BIRRELLI must ask for notice of that Question.
§ MR. LANE-FOXI beg to ask the President of the Board of Education whether the agreement or minute of appointment under which teachers are now employed by local education authorities embodies or includes an undertaking to give religious instruction.
§ MR. BIRRELLIn the great majority of cases I believe such an undertaking, either express or implied, is included; but this is not necessarily the case, and no doubt there are many instances to the contrary.