HC Deb 03 March 1976 vol 906 cc1310-1
22. Mrs. Bain

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on educational expenditure in Scotland during the financial year 1976–77.

Mr. McElhone

I would refer the hon. Lady to the White Paper on Public Expenditure to 1979–80, which was published on 19th February.

Mrs. Bain

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied with the criteria that will be used in implementing any public expenditure cuts? Is he satisfied with the criteria applied by the Strathclyde regional authority, which opened and closed Cumbernauld Technical College in one day? Will the hon. Gentleman indicate whether he was consulted about that decision? No one at Cumbernauld appears to have been consulted.

Mr. McElhone

These matters are for the Strathclyde regional authority. The White Paper provides for a 5 per cent. growth in current expenditure. It is time that the SNP treated the Scottish electorate with some sincerity. After all, on education matters it has no policy. I find it somewhat disturbing and dangerous that the SNP keeps issuing pamphlets claiming that 40,000 children are suffering from part-time education when it knows that the figure is about half that. It is disturbing and dangerous that it issues pamphlets about the difficulties of unemployed school leavers and about countless other matters. The SNP should stop calling itself a party when it is merely a pressure group which has no policy for Scotland.

Mr. Teddy Taylor

As the Minister spent most of his time as a Back Bencher calling for a massive expansion in education expenditure, and then replaced the hon. Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes), who resigned because of the Government's cuts in schooling, does the hon. Gentleman accept the Government's proposed reduction in capital spending for the school building programme?

Mr. McElhone

I am sorry to say that the hon. Gentleman is wrong again.

Mr. MacCormick

I listened with interest to what the Minister had to say about the Strathclyde regional authority's proposals for education cuts. Is he aware that on the Isle of Coll a school has been recently wired for electricity—the white man's tremendous invention—and that as a result of the education cuts it is not to be connected to the electricity supply?

Mr. McElhone

I can only say that the electorate cannot be wired to common sense if it has an SNP Member of Parliament to represent it.

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