§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause stand part of the Bill."
§ 3.51 p.m.
§ Mr. Ede (South Shields)I notice that in subsection (1) provision is made for the sum of £500 million. I do not know whether the Financial Secretary is in a position to tell us roughly how he anticipates, judging by past experience, that that will be divided between the various services that are financed by this Bill, but I note that he said the other day that the sum of £36 million had been spent, since we had the last Bill, on education. As some indication of the way this money is likely to be spent in the future, could he tell us the way that money was divided between the local authorities and financing the voluntary aided schools under the Act of 1944?
§ The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. John Boyd-Carpenter)The right hon. Gentleman, with his usual courtesy, was kind enough to give me private notice that he was going to raise this point, and I am therefore able to reply to him now. The position is that this provision under this Bill to the Public Works Loan Board for loans to local authorities does not in general touch the provision for the voluntary schools, in as much as their capital expenditure, as the right hon. Gentleman will no doubt recall, is not borrowed by local authorities: it is provided out of Ministry of Education Votes.
The only exception that I have been able to discover to that is a very trivial one, and that is the expenditure under the 1944 Act in respect of providing a room or accommodation in which school meals are served. Otherwise the provision either for the grants towards construction or otherwise is borne on the Ministry of Education Votes. So far as this £500 million is concerned, the figure is a trivial one in respect of providing 1917 accommodation in such schools for serving school meals.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Clauses 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Bill reported, without Amendment, read the Third time, and passed.