§ 58. Mr. KINLEYasked the President of the Board of Education the number of provided schools which are blacklisted or defective, and the number of children on the rolls of those schools?
§ Sir C. TREVELYANThe total number of provided schools remaining on the black list is 530. The number of children in the registers of these schools, on the 31st March last was 176,520.
§ Mr. KINLEYHas the Minister any hope that the schooling of these children can be adequately provided for without further financial assistance from the Government?
§ Sir C. TREVELYANAs the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government have raised their financial assistance from 20 per cent. to 50 per cent.
§ Mr. THURTLEWill the right hon. Gentleman exercise the powers vested in him either by compelling authorities to put these schools into proper order or by closing the schools altogether?
§ Sir C. TREVELYANI cannot do everything at once. The local authorities are working now harder than they have ever worked before, and they are building more schools than they have ever built before, and I think it is not reasonable to expect that every defect in our education system should disappear in this year.
§ Mr. ANEURIN BEVANArising out of the first supplementary question, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman if it is correct that the amount of the State grant has been raised from 20 per cent. to 50 per cent. in respect of non-provided schools?
§ Sir C. TREVELYANThe question here has nothing to do with non-provided schools.
§ Captain GUNSTONWhat authority has the right hon. Gentleman for saying that the local authorities are working harder than they have ever done before?