§ 3. Mr. SCRYMGEOURasked the President of the Board of Trade whether in view of the representations made to him against the departmental decision to discontinue marine engineering students' examinations at Dundee, he will reconsider this decision with a view to ascertaining the inconvenience and additional expense to the students without any economy to the Department?
§ 9. Major Sir ARCHIBALD SINCLAIRasked the President of the Board of Trade what economy would be effected if the Port of Aberdeen were discontinued as an examination centre for marine engineers; and what additional expense would he thrown upon young working men from the North of Scotland during their period of study when they are not wage earning?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI have considered the representations that have been made to the Board of Trade about the continuance of examinations of marine engineers at Dundee and Aberdeen, and I regret that I do not see my way to modify the previous decision, which was arrived at after careful consideration and with considerable reluctance.
The examination of engineers at these two ports could not be continued in an efficient manner except by the appointment of an additional Engineer Surveyor, involving an estimated annual expenditure of at least£500. The additional expense falling on candidates from the north of Scotland by the closing of examinations at the ports in question will be, speaking generally, the cost of travelling to Leith for the examination and back, and the cost of residence at that port during the examination.
§ Mr. SCRYMGEOURIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the technical college in Dundee will be seriously hampered in their work, and that the town council is protesting against this being done?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI do not see how the technical college can be hampered in their work because the examination by the surveyor takes place at Leith rather than at Dundee.
§ Mr. SCRYMGEOURBut will not the students be inconvenienced by having to go to Leith and thus tend to he drawn from the technical college in Dundee?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI should not have thought so, because if the instruction given at Dundee is good, the fact that they are examined by a Surveyor in Leith will not stop them being educated or instructed in Dundee, and it is really very important that one should 998 have a particular Surveyor for the examination work, otherwise you will not get the best results.
§ Mr. JOHNSTONArising out of the original answer, would the right hon. Gentleman not be prepared to consider further representations, which might take this form, that the examination should take place in the city which was the centre of the area, and not a point further south? Should not the examination take place in the largest city, which is Dundee, which is the centre of the area, and not compel the students to go from the north and centre to the south of the area?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI will consider any representations, but I do not think that that would be practicable, because the numbers coming either from Aberdeen or Dundee are, I think, comparatively small compared with the numbers from Leith. But if there are any representations that could be made, I would consider them. I should say that the reason why the port of Leith is fixed on is that at the port of Leith we. have two surveyors, and therefore, one of them is able to take the examination for the whole area, whereas at Dundee there is only one surveyor.
§ Mr. PALINGWill the right hon. Gentleman state whether this policy is part of the general policy pursued by the Government of economising on educational facilities?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERNot the least: it has nothing to do with it.