§ 67. Mr. RAFFANasked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been drawn to a statement made on behalf of the Lancashire Education Committee, to the effect that they have adopted a time-table setting out the order and period in which applications for the erection of new council schools can be dealt with; whether he is aware that under this time-table any application now made could not be dealt with till 1917; and, seeing that the effect of this rule will be that all new accommodation urgently required must be met by the erection or extension of non-provided schools, and in view of the disabilities which this would impose, especially on Nonconformists in single school areas with expanding populations, whether he will communicate with the, county education committee on the matter?
Mr. PEASEThe question apparently refers to a statement made at a public inquiry recently held by the Board into a proposal to provide a new voluntary school. In that case the local education authority had already informed the Board that they would be prepared to consider favourably a request for a council school whenever there is an effective demand for it. I presume that the time-table referred to is the building programme adopted by the authority which obviously cannot preclude the exceptional treatment of urgent cases.