§ Mr. KELLAWAYasked the President of the Board of Education if his attention has been called to the correspondence between the Hartwell South Northants Church of England school managers and Mrs. A. M. Smith, who for twelve years has been supplementary teacher there; whether he is aware that on 31st August the managers dismissed Mrs. Smith on the ground that they did not desire any longer to retain the services of a married woman teacher; that the managers wrote to Mrs. Smith on 17th October, stating that the Northants Education Committee had refused to sanction her dismissal on such a ground and offering her the alternatives of resignation or dismissal under Section 7, Clause 3, of the Education Act of 1902; and that on the 28th October the managers gave Mrs. Smith a month's notice on the ground that they were not satisfied with the religious instruction given by Mrs. Smith in the school; and if on these facts the Board of Education propose to take any action?
§ Mr. J. A. PEASEMy attention has been called to this matter, and, so far as can be judged from the information before me, the facts are as stated. It does not appear that any question has arisen between the local education authority and the managers which the Board could determine under Section 7 (3) of the Act of 1902, and apart from that Section I doubt 11 whether the Board have any power to intervene. The grounds for dismissal alleged by the managers in the first instance were not available for them without the consent of the local authority, which was refused. It would appear that the grounds for dismissal now put forward are grounds upon which the managers have a statutory right to dismiss without the consent of the authority.
§ Mr. KELLAWAYWill the right hon. Gentleman consider whether it would not be possible in the Code to secure for teachers who are dismissed under obviously dishonest pretences under this Section of this particular Act—
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member had better put his question on the Paper.