§ 34. Mr. W. GRAHAMasked the Under-Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health whether the Scottish Education Department has received protests against the minute of 2nd July, 1923, in regard to maintenance grants to be paid to central institutions under Section 16 (1) (c) of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1908; whether he is aware that institutions which do not happen to show a deficit are penalised, although their general needs may be great; and whether he will consider the advisability of making payment for actual work done, either for teachers' or for students' hours?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLANDVarious observations on the Minute have been received and considered by the Department, but only a very small minority of them could be described as in any sense protests. The reply to the second part of the question is in the negative; under Section II (b) of the Minute the existing privileges of the institutions referred to are fully conserved. The method of calculation suggested in the third part of the question was carefully tested before the Minute was framed, but its adoption was found to be impracticable owing to the widely differing circumstances of central institutions generally.
§ Mr. GRAHAMIf central institutions in Scotland are in a position to submit practical schemes to the Department, will the Department consider them at the present day?
§ The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLANDI would ask the hon. Member to remember that all the grants coming to such institutions as he describes come out of the education fund, and are a first charge upon it, and pro tanto affect the sum available for education purposes.