§ 20. Sir J. WARDLAW-MILNEasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what reduction has been made in the salaries of the local government officials connected with education services as a result of the requirements of the Government in economy last year; and how does this reduction compare with that made in the pay of teachers?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAMWhen salary reductions were made last autumn in the public services generally, local education authorities were warned that the Board would expect them to make appropriate reductions in the salaries of their officers other than teachers; but education is merely one among many local government services, and is largely administered by officials who divide their time between a number of those services, and, in view of the wide differences in conditions of service between one locality and another, it was impossible to prescribe a uniform rate of reduction analogous to that adopted in the case of teachers. The actual reductions made have been determined by individual local authorities in the light of local conditions.
§ Sir J. WARDLAW-MILNEIs it not the case that, taking a general survey, the reduction in these cases is very much less than in the case of teachers?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAMI believe that that is so, but it is very difficult to make an exact comparison, and my hon. Friend will, perhaps, bear in mind that the 1957 salaries of local government officers were fixed at many different dates in different areas, and that in some cases they have been quite recently reduced as the result of the fall in the cost of living or far special local reasons.