§ Sir HILDRED CARLILEasked the President of the Local Government Board how much a child costs per annum in a Poor Law school on the average, and what proportion of the cost is for food and what proportion is for staff; and whether, in view of the annual cost to the nation of maintaining 80,000 children in Poor Law schools, many of whom are orphans or removed from undesirable surroundings, the Local Government Board will take steps to urge the emigration of more children to Canada, where the demand for them is 20,000 in excess of the supply, where good homes await them under Government supervision, and the cost is final and relatively small?
§ Mr. BURNSThe desired information as to cost can only be given for Poor Law schools in London. According to a Return for the year ended Lady Day, 1911, the average annual cost of a child in a Metropolitan Poor Law school is £29 6s. 10d. (exclusive of rent, loans repaid, and interest on loans). The average annual cost (included in the foregoing figure) of provisions for children is £6 3s. O¼d. per child, and that of staff £12 4s. 8½d. per child. The number of children maintained in Poor Law institutions in England and Wales on the 1st January, 1912 (excluding the small classes of casuals and insane children) was 70,698. With regard to the latter part of the hon. Member's question, I would refer him to 729W the answer I gave him on the subject on the 29th February last.