§ Lord EDMUND TALBOTasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of children committed to industrial schools during 1908 who were under eight years of age; and what steps he has taken, or 791 proposes to take, to give effect to Clause 53 of The Children Act, 1908, under which such young children can be boarded out in suitable families?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Gladstone)The number of children committed to industrial schools in Great Britain during 1908 who were under eight was 377. Steps have been taken to call the attention of managers of schools to their powers under Section 53 of the Children Act, and a scale of Treasury contributions for boarded-out children has been approved. I am considering whether any further action can be taken with advantage to encourage boarding-out in suitable cases.