§ 25. Mr. James Griffithsasked the President of the Board of Education, whether, having regard to the high incidence of tuberculosis in Wales, the school medical officers of health in the Principality have made any reports to him as to the large number of school buildings that are unsuitable and should be replaced, and as to the fact that in 415 the rural areas children have to walk long distances to school and during inclement weather have no facilities for drying their clothes, and further that there are also no facilities for securing a substantial midday meal; and what steps he proposes to take to deal with these problems?
§ The President of the Board of Education (Mr. Oliver Stanley)While a few school medical officers have called attention to these matters in their reports, the great majority have not done so. I am, however, alive to the importance of improving or replacing unsatisfactory school buildings, and progress is continually being made in this respect. As regards the provision of facilities for drying children's clothes and for providing a midday meal, attention has been called to these matters in the Board's pamphlet on Elementary School Buildings (Educational Pamphlet No. 107) and in Circular 1444, both of which were issued by my Department last year; and I hope that as progress is made with the reorganisation of elementary schools it may be possible to secure a substantial extension of these facilities.