24. Colonel BURNasked the President of the Board of Education if the Board of Education will consent to pay the local authority the three-fifths share of salaries-which the Government grant includes in the current year instead of the following year, and thus save the local authority from having to increase the education rate very considerably to find the money which will be repaid the next year?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Herbert Fisher)The suggestion made in the hon. and gallant Member's question has been carefully considered by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself. We have come to the conclusion that no sufficient case has been made out for a revision of the present system of grants for elementary education in the direction suggested.
Colonel BURNWill the right hon. Gentleman not consider the ratepayers who have to find this money, and are very hardly hit, and why is this incubus to be placed upon them?
§ Mr. FISHERThere is no local authority in the country which receives leas than 50 per cent. of its approved expenditure on elementary education.
Colonel BURNWhy should the ratepayers find the money which will eventually have to be paid back in the following year by the local authorities?
§ Mr. FISHERThe Treasury is finding nine-tenths of the increased cost of elementary education.