§ MR. W. HOPE (Somersetshire, N.)To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether the Board have formed the opinion that it is illegal for county councils to pay for the training of midwives either out of the county fund or out of the funds set apart for the purposes of higher education; and, if so, on what grounds.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) It would seem to the Local Government Board to be competent for a county council to incur expenditure for this purpose in exercise of the powers conferred on them by Section 2 of the Education Act, 1902, if, after consultation with the Board of Education, it appeared to them 812 desirable to do so. But they are not aware of any legal authority which would enable a county council to incur any such expenditure apart from these powers.