§ 12. Mr. Chetwyndasked the Minister of Education how many schools will be postponed as a result of his recent circular imposing a reduction in capital expenditure on new schools in 1956 and 1957.
§ Sir D. EcclesThere are some 750 projects in the 1956–57 programme as previously approved. Most of them will be deferred but in many cases only for a few weeks and generally for less than three months.
§ Mr. ChetwyndWhen will the Minister stop interfering with the plans of local authorities? Is he not aware that the Government's original proposal to defer starts for three months and then defer them again has only aggravated the problem and not eased it? If he is looking for the real cause of the difficulty, would he consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer and impose some kind of building control on less essential projects?
§ Sir D. EcclesNo, Sir. I am looking forward to the time when the programmes are up-to-date, and I think that they will be as a result of the steps now taken.