§ Mr. GOLDSTONEasked the President of the Board of Education what was the total number of secondary schools in receipt of the higher grant of the Board which had been permitted to provide less than the usual 25 per cent. of free places; whether the circumstances under which the variation from the regulations was allowed were reviewed from time to time; and, if so, at what intervals the reconsideration was undertaken by the Board of Education?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Runciman)The normal requirement of 25 per cent. of free places has been reduced, in respect of the current school year, in 125 of the 909 schools in receipt of the higher grant in England and Wales. All cases where a reduction of the normal requirement has been made are reviewed from time to time but there is not a fixed interval common to all. Any change of the conditions under which the reduction of requirement was originally made, and any new circumstances arising subsequently, are taken in consideration as occasion requires.