HC Deb 28 June 1967 vol 749 cc512-3
49. Mr. Dalyell

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a study of the potential use of surplus Royal Air Force equipment in school classes taking technical subjects.

Mr. Millan

Two studies of this kind, not limited to Royal Air Force equipment, are being made in England. The Education Departments in England and Wales and in Scotland have been in touch for some time regarding these and, if a useful and practicable scheme can be evolved, it will include Scotland.

Mr. Dalyell

Does my hon. Friend appreciate the value of what can only be called "tinkering" with equipment in technical classes? For all the value which the State gets out of a great deal of unused surplus equipment, without going through the difficulties of accounting for it all, could it not be transferred very simply to schools?

Mr. Millan

It is not as simple as all that. I agree that some of the equipment which becomes available might well be used in schools. That is what we are considering at the moment. Colleges of education and the central institutions, for example, already have arrangements with the Ministry of Defence, but it is doubtful whether, without further study, they could be extended just as they are to the schools. That is what we are considering.