§ 23. Mr. M. Stewartasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether he will give an estimate of the total cost of the adoption by local education authorities of the scales of educational maintenance allowances described in his Department's Circular 327.
§ Sir E. BoyleIf all local education authorities adopted the scales the estimated total annual cost would probably be between £2 million and £2½ million as compared with a present expenditure of about £1 million.
§ 24. Mr. M. Stewartasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education whether he will revise Ministry of Education Circular 327 so as to make it conform with the recommendations of the Working Party on Educational Maintenance Allowances.
§ Sir E. BoyleNo, Sir.
§ Mr. StewartCan the hon. Gentleman say why he will not accept the full recommendations of the Working Party? Does he remember that the Working Party said that it could not conscientiously recommend any economies—that is, scales less than that which it had proposed—without there being the risk of a significant loss to the education of the child?
§ Sir E. BoyleThe matter was, of course, very fully considered. My noble Friend felt he could not accept fully, as a basis for expenditure from public funds, all the assumptions embodied in the Working Party's Report, and in deciding 1326 to approve lower maximum allowances he naturally had regard to the Government's other commitments and the need for ensuring that additional expenditure is directed towards meeting the most urgent needs. I think the hon. Gentleman will agree that, in the present economic climate, to have secured an increase of expenditure in respect of maintenance allowance of even that order was something not to be despised.