§ 18. Major OWENasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education how many local education authorities have submitted schemes for the raising of the school-leaving age to 15; whether any of these schemes have been sanctioned by his Department; and, if so, how many?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Ramsbotham)Five local education authorities had already made by-laws before 1931 requiring attendance at school up to the age of 15. Since then, application for such a by-law has been made by 10 authorities. Of these, one has been allowed, two have been refused, and the remainder are under consideration.
§ Major OWENMay I ask what were the grounds for the refusal?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAMPartly because the educational arrangements were not satisfactory and partly because the areas were not sufficiently self-contained to prevent difficulties of employment arising with neighbouring areas.