Mr. Palmerasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he is aware that a number of secondary school teachers have already lost, or are in danger of losing, their employment owing to the evacuation or commandeering of the schools in which they serve; and whether, in view of the fact that the appointment of teachers in 2112W State-aided secondary schools is in the hands of local education authorities and governing bodies, he will appeal to those authorities to bear in mind the hard lot of these displaced teachers when filling vacancies in their schools?
Mr. LindsayI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to a similar question by the hon. Member for Windsor (Sir A. Somerville) on 26th October. I have every sympathy with teachers who may have lost their employment through circumstances outside their control, and I am sure that local education authorities and governing bodies can be relied on to give every consideration to applications from such teachers in filling normal vacancies. The Board of Education could not take official action to influence the selection of candidates by authorities and governing bodies; but I think the publicity already given to this matter will be sufficient to bring it to their notice.