§ MR. BRIDGEMANI beg to ask the President of the Board of Education what inspection of Welsh intermediate schools is made by the Board of Education apart from the inspection of the Central Welsh Board; whether the Board of Education exercising the powers of the Charity Commission, have power to inspect such schools; and whether any of such schools are inspected by the Board of Education in their administrative capacity as distributor of secondary or other grants.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Board of Education, exercising the powers of the 656 Charity Commission, have power to inspect all schools regulated by scheme under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act, 1889. By Treasury regulations made under Section 9 of that Act, they have further power to make such examination or inspection of the schools, in addition to that conducted by the Central Welsh Board, as they may think necessary, in order to ascertain whether the conditions under which the Treasury grant may be paid under that Act have been fulfilled. No inspection has so far taken place under either of the above-mentioned powers. Over eighty of the Welsh intermediate schools, out of a total of ninety-five, are recognised for grants under the Board's secondary school regulations, and each of these is periodically inspected by the Board under those regulations. Many of these also receive grants under the Board's regulations for the instruction and training of pupil teachers, and are fully inspected by the Board for the purposes of these grants.