HC Deb 03 March 1908 vol 185 cc536-7
MR. RENDALL (Gloucestershire, Thornbury)

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Education why the Board declined to insert a clause in the Gloucestershire, Henbury (Sandford and Gray) Order, No. 543 W., 2nd January, 1908, allocating the sum of £50 per annum in relief of the rates of the parishes of Henbury and Redwick and Northwick, notwithstanding that such allocation was agreed upon by the Gloucestershire County Council, the parish councils interested in the matter, and the trustees of the charity, and notwithstanding that it was understood at the inquiry held at Bristol that such a clause should be inserted in the Order; and will the Board of Education now modify the Order in the sense indicated.

MR. MCKENNA

The scheme of 2nd January, 1908, allocates a yearly sum of £80 to the support and maintenance of the Northwick Endowed School and the Henbury Girls' and Infants' "Church of England School so long as they are public elementary schools. As the Board explained to all the parties interested, this yearly sum of £80 is income part of which is payable to the local education authority under Section 13 of the Education Act of 1902, but as to which there are no provisions in the trust for determining the amount payable. The Board did not consider it desirable that the scheme should give specific directions as to the application of the sum of £80 or any part of it, both because the amount payable to the local authority is under Section 13 (1) a matter for agreement in the first instance between the parties, and because it is for the local authority and not for the Board to decide under Section 13 (2) what parish or parishes are entitled to the benefit of the payment by reason of the fact that they are served by the school. The Board understood that it had been agreed between the parties that £50 out of the £80 should be regarded as representing the amount payable to the local education authority under Section 13; the scheme does not in any way interfere with that agreement, and it does not appear that any modification of the scheme is necessary.