HL Deb 01 August 1944 vol 133 cc9-11

Page 23, Line 37, at end, insert new clause:

Provisions as to religious instruction in accordance with agreed syllabus. (".—(1) The provisions of the Seventh Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the preparation, adoption, and reconsideration, of an agreed syllabus of religious instruction.

(2) A local education authority shall have power, upon the recommendation of coy conference convened in accordance with the provisions of the said Schedule, to constitute a standing advisory council on religious education to advise the authority upon matters connected with the religious instruction to be given in accordance with an agreed syllabus and, in particular, as to methods of teaching, the choice of books, and the provision of lectures for teachers.

(3) The method of appointment of the members of any council constituted under the last foregoing subsection and the term of office and conditions of retirement of the members thereof shall be such as may be determined by the local education authority, but the authority shall have regard to any recommendations with respect to those matters which may be made to them by such a conference as aforesaid.")

The Commons propose to amend the above Amendment as follows:

In subsection (2), leave out ("upon the recommendation of any conference conversed, in accordance with the provisions of the said Schedule,")

In subsection (3), leave out from the first ("authority") to end of subsection and insert: ("(4) A local education authority shall have regard to any unanimous recommendations which may be made to them by any conference convened in accordance with the provisions of the said Seventh Schedule with respect to the expediency of constituting such an advisory council as aforesaid or with respect to the method by which or the terms and conditions upon which members of any such council should be appointed.")

THE EARL OF SELBORNE

My Lords, the next Amendment I think is an improvement to an improvement your Lordships have already made in the Bill. It is one of the big improvements in the Bill made here and we owe it to the Bench of Bishops. By Amendments moved by the right reverend Prelates the Bishop of Chichester and the Bishop of Wakefield provision was made in the Bill that there should be a standing committee, where desired, to advise local education authorities in regard to all syllabus teaching and in particular in regard to any new agreed syllabus that might be required. That Amendment was accepted in another place as a big improvement to the Bill, but it was pointed out that the Amendment was open to the criticism that a local education authority could not set up this standing committee unless it was recommended by the conference convened in accordance with the provisions of the Seventh Schedule.

The effect of the Commons Amendment to the Lords Amendment is to leave it open to the local education authority to set up a standing committee without having received any such recommendation from the conference and I think that is a further improvement. A local education authority I think ought to be able to set up this standing committee of its own volition. But a new subsection is added which says: A local education authority shall have regard to any unanimous recommendations which may be made to them by any conference convened in accordance with the provisions of the said Seventh Schedule with respect to the expediency of constituting such an advisory council as aforesaid or with respect to the method by which or the terms and conditions upon which members of any such council should be appointed. Therefore the conference still has full right to make representations to the local education authority, but the local education authority is given power to act on its own motion instead of having to wait for a recommendation from the conference. I hope your Lordships will agree that this is a further improvement and that you will agree to the Commons Amendment.

Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendments.—(The Earl of Selborne.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.