§ Mr. REESasked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that, while Ireland has an additional grant of £230,000 for university buildings and £102,000 for maintenance, Wales has only £50,000 and £16,000 for the same purposes in respect of its three colleges; and whether the Government will consider the propriety of increasing the grant to Wales up to the Irish standard?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSE (for Mr. Runciman)The circumstances of the two countries are not strictly comparable. Moreover, the maintenance grants to the University of Wales and constituent colleges have been increased from £16,000 to £31,000, in addition to which the colleges receive considerable grants from the Board of Education and the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries for training of teachers, technical subjects, agriculture and forestry, for which I am aware of no equivalents in Ireland. The circumstances of the colleges in Wales 211 were recently inquired into by a committee, and the increased grants were assigned only last year.
§ Mr. REESDoes the right hon. Gentleman suggest that the grants in this respect to Wales are equal in proportion to those made to Ireland?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSENo; I do not suggest that.