§ 2. Mr. E. Johnsonasked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the difficulty of maintaining the supply of full-trained youth leaders; and if he will state his policy on the future pattern of the Youth Service.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education (Mr. Dennis Vosper)Yes, Sir. My right hon. Friend intends to review policy in consultation with the various bodies that are concerned.
§ Mr. JohnsonDoes my hon. Friend expect that there will be an improvement in the supply of leaders for the Youth Service? Is he aware that, whereas it costs £6 a week to keep a boy in an approved school, only £3 a year is being spent by local authorities to help the Youth Service? Is it not true that a stitch in time saves nine?
§ Mr. VosperThat will be one of the considerations to which my right hon. Friend will give attention. I do not think I can be expected to go further than my original answer at this stage.
§ Dr. KingWill the hon. Gentleman treat this as a matter of some urgency? Is he aware that his own Ministry is finding it difficult to get candidates for the youth leader courses which are already being provided by the Ministry, and that the real difficulty is the unattractiveness of the salary scales for the Youth Service?
§ Mr. VosperMy right hon. Friend is fully aware of that, but the hon. Member may agree that there are considerable developments in the field of education at the moment. It is not possible to commence everything at once.