§ Mr. GRANTasked the President of the Board of Education whether he will state the number of detailed, as distinct from ordinary, inspections that have been held since 1903, and up to the present date, of each of such of the larger schools of art as those at Liverpool, Manchester, New-castle-on-Tyne, Birmingham, Sheffield, Bradford, Leicester, Plymouth, Bristol, the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts, the New Cross School of Art, and the Brighton School of Art; the time given to each inspection; the number of inspectors engaged in each; how soon after each inspection has the report been communicated by the Board to the local managers of each school respectively; and the number of additional times between the detailed inspections that each of the schools has been visited by an inspector from the Board?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANDetailed inspections are held only for schools recognised under Article 51 (a) of the Regulations for Technical Schools, Schools of Art, etc. In accordance with the terms of this Article the fixed annual grant payable to such schools is subject to a triennial reassessment based upon the character, efficiency, and volume of the work of each school as ascertained by a detailed inspection. The detailed inspection for the purposes of this reassessment covers three processes:—(1)The inspection of the school and its operations. (2) The scrutiny of locally-selected art works executed by the students during the school year and sent to the Board of Education for examination at South Kensington. (3) A consideration of returns from each school made after the end of the school year. The results of these three processes are then considered together, with a view to the re-assessment of the grant, and the Report is usually issued to the managers of the school at the same time as the announcement of the rate of grant, or shortly after the three processes included under the detailed inspection are completed. Any points arising out of the490W inspection of the school and its operations which require early attention by the managers are dealt with either orally in the locality, when this inspection is being held, or by the early transmission of an Interim Report specially prepared for this purpose. The information asked for in the remainder of the question is of so detailed a character that it could only be given with accuracy in a long tabulated schedule. I think, therefore, that the hon. Member's purpose would best be served if I cause a complete list to be sent to him, instead of having it printed at length in the Votes. Such a list is now being compiled, and will be sent to him as soon as it is completed.