HC Deb 10 June 1969 vol 784 cc1363-4
Mr. Edward M. Taylor

I beg to move Amendment No. 34, in page 33, line 33, leave out paragraph 5.

In Committee, with the support of the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty (Mr. Alasdair Mackenzie) and the late Mrs. Alice Cullen, I proposed a new Clause providing that if any Scottish local authority was to reduce significantly the amount of time devoted in its curricula to religious instruction, it would be required to go through the referendum procedure provided in Section 8 of the 1962 Education (Scotland) Act. This referendum provision exists initially so that if any local authority decides to remove absolutely religious instruction from a school curricula it will have to go through a referendum and all the electors of the county will be consulted.

When we were discussing the new Clause the Under-Secretary, in a very full reply, said in column 651: It is a pity we are dealing with this matter as a new Clause rather than on the proposal in the Schedule for the elimination of Section 9(2) of the 1962 ACt."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, First Scottish Standing Committee, 11th March 1968; c. 651.] For this reason a Division on the new Clause did not occur.

We have tabled the Amendment to avoid the repeal, which the Government propose, of Section 9(2) of the 1962 Education (Scotland) Act.

It being Ten o'clock, further consideration of the Bill, as amended, stood adjourned.