§ Mr. BRIANTasked the President of the Board of Education if adequate steps are taken to secure that children living in caravans and on canal boats obtain the education which is obtained by other children; if he is aware that it is stated that of 1,015 children of school age living on canal boats, 186 have never been to school and 497 have received practically no education; and what steps he intends to take to secure that the Education Acts are enforced in these cases?
Mr. H. LEWISI have not seen the statement to which the hon. Member refers, but I have reason to believe that the number of canal boat children of school age is approximately 1,000. I hope that the Report of the Committee appointed last August by the Minister of Health to inquire into the practice of "living in" on canal boats in England and Wales, and to report whether any alteration in the practice is desirable, will furnish suggestions and advice for dealing with the difficult problem of the education of these children.