§ Lord HENRY CAVENDISH - BENTINCKasked the Prime Minister whether, as the relations between the local education authorities and the Labour Exchanges cannot be settled satisfactorily by either the Board of Education or the Board of Trade alone, and still less by casual and haphazard arrangements made locally, he will take steps to ensure that this question, involving the care, direction, education, and control of boys and girls between the age when they leave school and the age of man and womanhood, shall be properly considered and settled by Parliament, and the limits of control to be exercised by the education authority on the one hand, and the trade authority on the other shall be constitutionally defined?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Buxton)My right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. Special rules dealing with this matter have been made by the Board of Trade 2334 after consultation with the Board of Education, in pursuance of Regulation IX. of the Statutory Regulations for Labour Exchanges approved by Parliament under the Labour Exchanges Act, 1909. The Education (Choice of Employment) Bill recently introduced by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Education proposes to confer certain powers on local education authorities in England and Wales with respect to this question. In Scotland the powers of such authorities have already been defined by the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908. I have no reason for thinking that the existing and proposed machinery will be inadequate to deal with this important problem, which, in my opinion, can only be satisfactorily solved by cordial co-operation between the education authorities and the Labour Exchange authorities. I may add that I have every reason to anticipate that this cooperation will be forthcoming.
§ Lord HENRY CAVENDISH - BENTINCKWill the right hon. Gentleman give facilities for the Choice of Employment Bill to pass before the Recess?