§ Sir W. Robson-Brownasked the Minister of Education whether, in view of the present burden of local rates and the prospect of substantial rises therein in consequence of the forthcoming reassessment of properties and the fact that the Exchequer already bears a substantial proportion of the cost of education, he will transfer all education charges from the local rates to general taxation in order to achieve simplification and economy, and to spread the cost of education more fairly over the whole population.
§ Sir E. BoyleNo. As is shown by a recent report of the Association of Municipal Corporations, local rates are less of a burden in real terms than they were before the war. Transferring the cost of education to the Exchequer would inevitably involve a transfer of control which would not accord with the wishes of the local education authorities or of the Government.