§ 91 Mr. WHITEHOUSEasked the President of the Board of Education (1) what are the chief recommendations on the subject of economy in education which the Board has made to local education authorities; (2) whether he will state what economies are contemplated in the Board's expenditure on education; and whether he will submit them to the House' before acting upon them; and (3) if the right hon. Gentleman will lay upon the 1469 Table the chief correspondence between the Board and local education authorities on the subject of economy in the service of education?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Herbert Lewis)The Board have no general power to control the current expenditure of local education authorities on education and have made no general recommendations to them as to specific methods of economy except as regards buildings. They have, of course, had formal and informal correspondence with local education authorities on details involving expenditure, and their inspectors have been freely consulted by the authorities in many areas. The Board's general object has been to secure as much economy, in the proper sense of the term, as is possible, and such reduction of expenditure as is consistent with maintaining the efficiency of the public system of education. I do not think any useful purpose would be served by laying correspondence or that the expense of printing it would be justified. I cannot anticipate the decision of the Government on the Report of the Committee on Public Retrenchment, and it would be premature to attempt any statement of the effect which any proposed economies may have on the Board's expenditure.