§ 80. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Minister of Education under what authority 2,700 Polish students are receiving maintenance allowances while attending British universities and technical colleges, the Polish university college and other Polish institutions; how those students are selected: and what is the total cost.
§ Mr. TomlinsonThe authority for the grant of these maintenance allowances is Section 6 of the Polish Resettlement Act, 1947, which authorises the Minister of208W Education to provide for the Poles such services as a local education authority, or the Minister of Education, is authorised to provide under the Education Acts. The great majority of the Polish students who have received these allowances are ex-Service men and women, and the awards given them are based upon the same conditions as the awards to men and women who have served in the United Kingdom forces. A small proportion are civilian students eligible for grants under the Act. Their selection is the responsibility of the Committee for the Education of Poles in Great Britain. The cost of the maintenance grants to Polish students for the first seven months of the current financial year, that is for the period ending 31st October, 1948, was approximately £393,000.