77. Mr. THOMSONasked the President of the Board of Education whether, in the case of local educational authorities reducing their expenditure during the current year on special services and administration and other expenditure in connection with elementary education within the limits specified in Command Paper 1,638, their elementary substantive grant will be based on the same formula as last year, even though the increases involved by the carry-over agreement for teachers' salaries under the Burnham scale, as approved by the Board, will make their total net expenditure more than last year?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Herbert Fisher)Subject to the over-riding limit on the total expenditure of local education authorities which can be recognised for grant, and subject to observance of the interior limits on expenditure for special services and for administration and other expenditure, respectively, the existing formula for the calculation of grant will still be applied to expenditure which is not disallowed as extravagant and improper. It will, of course, be understood that the conditions of the Board's Regulations must be observed.
Mr. THOMSONWhat is the basis on which reductions, which the right hon. Gentleman has foreshadowed, will be made?
§ Mr. FISHERI have not foreshadowed any reductions.