§ 51. Sir CYRIL COBBasked the President of the Board of Education if he can state the amount of public money from rates and taxes, respectively, which was expended on the training of teachers for elementary schools in the years 1913–14 and 1921–22; what sums are provided for this purpose for the year 1923–24; and whether he has any estimate of the number of elementary school teachers now out of employment?
Mr. WOODThe grants paid by the Board for the training of teachers for elementary schools in the financial year 1913–14, in respect of both local education authority and non-local education authority institutions, amounted to £645,943. The expenditure from rates on the train- 1295 ing of teachers for elementary schools in 1913–14 cannot be given, but the corresponding figure in 1912–13 was £152,019. In 1921–22 the net expenditure from rates amounted to £453,259, and of this amount, approximately, half, or £226,630 was met by grants from the Board to local education authorities. The grants paid by the Board in the same year to non-local education authority institutions and students amounted to £844,255. The local education authorities' forecasts for 1923–24 show a net expenditure of £423,000 on training of teachers, of which, approximately, one-half, or £211,500, would be met by grants from the Board. The Board's grants to non-local education authority institutions and to students for 1923–24 are estimated at £855,070. The figures given have been confined, so far as possible, to expenditure on training of teachers for elementary schools, but I cannot distinguish this expenditure in all cases from expenditure on other forms of training.
I regret that I cannot give any estimate of the total number of persons who have been employed as teachers in elementary schools. and who are now out of employment.