HC Deb 06 March 1924 vol 170 cc1595-6
66. Mr. T. WILLIAMS

asked the President of the Board of Education if he is aware that the wooden huts used for elementary schools in various parts of South Yorkshire are wholly unsuitable from every point of view, especially from the standpoint of health; and will he take steps, as speedly as possible to urge local education authorities to replace them by permanent buildings?

Mr. TREVELYAN

If my hon. Friend will give me details of any specific cases in which temporary school buildings of the kind to which he refers are alleged to be prejudicial to the health of the children, I will make immediate inquiries. As regards the general question, while I agree that the wooden huts of the Army type used in the war are in many ways not satisfactory for school purposes, and should be replaced at the earliest opportunity, their degree of suitability varies. Some wooden buildings accepted by the Board have proved quite suitable for their purpose, and while there are so many arrears of building to be made up, I cannot lay it down as a general proposition that their replacement should in all cases have priority over more urgent matters.