§ Mr. CHARLES BATHURSTasked the President of the Board of Education whether he realises the effect upon the ratepayers of the non-autonomous areas of administrative counties of the new regulations of the Board under which the Special Grant for the purposes of elementary education in the more necessitous districts is only payable to those authorities whose rates for elementary education as raised over the whole area of the authority exceed 1s. 6d, in the £, although the rate in many districts of such areas may far exceed such amount without any local maladministration or extravagance, and the fact that many prosperous county towns having separate education authorities are under such regulations enjoying a boon denied to much poorer localities; and whether he will take steps to deal with this state of affairs?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI am quite alive to the fact, to which I understand the hon. Member to refer, that owing to the incidence of special rates certain districts in the areas of administrative counties which fail to receive relief under the regulations governing the Special Grant for necessitous areas are nevertheless actually paying rates for elementary education exceeding 1s. 6d. in the £. It is difficult to see how the Board of Education could make grants for elementary education otherwise than to local education authorities.
§ Sir ARTHUR GRIFFITH-BOSCAWENasked the President of the Board of Education why the Board refuses to give a share in the Special Aid Grant to those local authorities in whose case the cost of elementary education has only recently risen to a greater sum than the produce of a 1s. 6d. rate, as witnessed in the case of Dudley and Wrexham, thereby penalising authorities who have exercised economy; and whether he will alter the regulations relating to this matter?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANAs I have explained in a previous answer given in this House, the Special Grant has always been properly regarded as a purely temporary measure of relief. Pending the Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee with re- 1031 gard to the relation of Imperial to local taxation the Government do not consider it desirable to extend the scope of the grant. With this view it has been necessary to impose what is, I admit, a purely arbitrary time limit.
§ Sir A. GRIFFITH-BOSCAWENWill the right hon. Gentleman undertake to reconsider it next year, otherwise these authorities are left without the Special Aid Grant, although they are expending large sums of money?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANYes. I am quite alive to the difficulties which arise under present limitations, and the matter is receiving the consideration of the Committee.