§ 8. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for taking the responsibility for payment of teachers' salaries away from local authorities; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Gordon WalkerAny major reform of local government finance must await the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England.
§ Mr. RobertsWould not this transfer of the payment of teachers' salaries considerably reduce rates—by about 2s. in the £ in a typical area like Luton? If this transfer is not made and local authorities maintain their hold on the purse strings of teachers' salaries, will not the difficult situation of the last few months happen yet again, with the possibility of hundreds of thousands of children finding themselves locked out of their schools?
§ Mr. Gordon WalkerIt is perfectly true that if we transferred the payment of teachers' salaries to the Government that would reduce the rate burden, but it would also reduce the rôle and purpose of local government.
§ Mr. AllasonDoes not the right hon. Gentleman remember the Labour Party's election pledge that it would do precisely this? If he waits until the completion of the review of local government, he cannot possibly fulfil that pledge in this Parliament.
§ Mr. Gordon WalkerThat is a wider question, but other things have been done which carried out our election undertakings—the rate rebate scheme and the special rate supplementation. It would be stupid to do this ahead of the Report of the Royal Commission.