§ MR. HAROLD COX (Preston)To ask the President of the Board of Education if he can give figures for London, and for a few typical English boroughs, showing what is the total cost of elementary education per child in average attendance, including the cost of loans for buildings, the cost of administration, and all other necessary items, and how that cost is at present divided between 321 the ratepayer and the taxpayer; and how it will be divided if the financial provisions of the Education Bill of this session become law.
(Answered by Mr. McKenna.) My hon. friend will find in the Report of the Departmental Committee on Education Rates (Cd. 3317 of 1907) the actual cost for 1904–5, and the estimated cost for 1905–6, per child in each area, classified under various headings, together with the amount of Exchequer Grants received. If he will let me know the boroughs for which he desires statistics I shall be happy to supply him with the actual figures for 1905–6, as found from Tables 19 and 132 of the volume of the Board's Statistics for 1905–6–7; those for 1906–7 will not be available until the examination of the audited accounts has been completed. With regard to the last part of the Question, it is impossible to estimate the expenditure of any local authority after the passing of the Education Bill, inasmuch as it must depend upon many factors, some of which are within the discretion of the authority and are not affected by the Bill.