§ Mr. CLOUGHasked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the fact that in Barnoldswick there are 1,549 school places, an average attendance of 1,395, and 1,717 names on the registers, and that he has consented to the proposal of the West Riding local education authority to provide additional accommodation for 300, he can now state that, when the new Roman Catholic elementary school is completed, the 95 Roman Catholic children will then be withdrawn from the present public elementary schools in that area, without reducing the present cost of maintenance of any of those schools; and whether this new Roman Catholic school will thus increase the burden upon the rates and taxes to the extent of £400 per annum?
Mr. PEASEIn view of the rapid rate at which it may be expected that the expansion of Barnoldswick will continue, I do not anticipate that the withdrawal of the Roman Catholic children from the existing schools when the new Roman Catholic school is ready will lead to any reduction in the average attendance at the existing schools below the figure for which they are at present recognised, or to any consequent reduction in the cost of their maintenance. The question is, 1953W however, purely hypothetical and the answer depends upon a variety of considerations, such as the ages of the children at the time of the transfer and the size of the class-rooms in the existing schools. With reference to the second part of the question, it is not possible to say what Grants will be earned by the new school or what will be the cost of maintenance. One witness at the inquiry estimated the Grants the school would earn at £243, and the cost of maintenance at £342 a year. Another witness estimated the cost of maintenance at £460, but I may point out that an additional burden on the rates and taxes is inevitable in any case owing to the influx of children and the necessity for further accommodation.