§ MR. J. M. ROBERTSONI beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been called to the fact that the Northumberland County Council has recently purchased from the Duke of Northumberland a site for a school between Westerhope and North Walbottle at a price of £927 13s. 4d. per acre; whether he is aware that the rental value of the site is about £1 per acre, and that the cost of erecting the school is between £5,000 and £6,000; whether, seeing that the school, being about a mile distant from each of the places named, is inconvenient for both, he has made any inquiries whether two convenient schools could have been erected at the same building cost and at a much lower cost per site; and, if not, whether he proposes to cause an official inquiry to be made into such expenditure.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSI am aware that the county council have purchased this site, the cost of which was £749, including legal expenses. I do not know the amount of the rental value. The estimated cost of the buildings and furniture was £4,386. The question of the convenience of the site for educational purposes was one for the Board of Education, and they informed me in March, 1906, that they had approved of it so far as educational requirements were concerned. A loan for the purchase of the site and the erection of the school was sanctioned in 1907, and the building has since been 1563 erected. The matter cannot be re-opened, and I could not undertake to direct an inquiry on the subject.
§ MR. J. M. ROBERTSONIs any redress open to the inhabitants in the case of the wrongful expenditure of public funds like this?
§ MR. JOHN BURNSI think the local authority might have made earlier representation as to the unsuitability of the site.
§ MR. J. M. ROBERTSONBut in the case of the local authority having offended, have the inhabitants no redress?
§ [No Answer was returned.]