§ Mr. HOWARDasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he has received from the Permanent Secretary to his Department any report in regard to the visit paid by that official, on 26th November, to the newly-erected Ilmington Road senior school at Selly Oak, Birmingham, at the invitation of the Education Committee of the city of Birmingham; whether he is aware that this school, accommodating 360 boys and 360 girls, has been built entirely of timber from British Columbia as an experiment, and at a cost less by some 25 per cent. than the cost of building a school of equal size from brick, stone, or other similar materials; and whether the Board will take measures to encourage the construction of similar timber schools in other education areas throughout the country?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAMI am aware of the facts mentioned in the question, and I am glad to confirm them. The use of timber as an alternative to traditional methods of brick construction has already been advocated in a Circular issued by the Board of Education in July, 1932, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.