§ The minutes of the proceedings of a local education authority, and, where a local education authority delegate to their education committee any powers and the acts and proceedings of the education committee as respects the exercise of those powers are not required to be submitted to the council for their approval, the minutes of the proceedings of the education committee, relating to the exercise of those powers, shall be open to the inspection of any ratepayer at any reasonable time during the ordinary hours of business on payment of a fee of one shilling and any ratepayer may make a copy thereof or take an extract therefrom.—[Mr. Herbert Fisher.]
§ Brought up, and read the first time.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause be read a second time."—[Mr. Herbert Fisher.]
§ Mr. KINGThis is a Clause which I welcome. I think that it arises out of the suggestions which I made in an earlier stage of the Committee, but there is one small point in the drafting which requires consideration. This Clause says that the minutes are to be open to the inspection of any ratepayer. In answer to a question yesterday on another Clause, as to whether we ought not to recognise the rights of a ratepayer or a person interested, the President of the Board of Education will remember that in the Clause that we then had under discussion the expression used is "a person interested." Why should you give the person interested the right in one case and the ratepayer in another? This seems to point to some laxity in the drafting, and I shall reserve 1746 my right to move an Amendment on the Report stage to put the two Clauses on the same level.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Clause added to the Bill.