§ Lord Denningasked Her Majesty's Government:
Following the Answer of Baroness Blatch on 17th July (HL Deb., col. 857), whether the interpretation placed in her Answer on Section 2(4) of the Education Act 1973, as it originally stood, was contrary to the general principle of charity law, and that the section of the community to be benefited must be sufficiently defined and limited to an area of benefit: and not undefined and unlimited, as in the Answer "and voluntary school" anywhere.
§ Baroness BlatchThe primary purpose behind an order made under Section 2 of the Education Act 1973 was, and is, to make new provision for educational endowments with a view to enabling the denomination concerned to participate more effectively in the administration of the statutory system of public education. In the majority of cases, the denomination concerned is the Church of England. By, for example, allowing the endowments of a closed Church of England voluntary school to be used for appropriate educational purposes in connection with other Church of England voluntary schools, I would disagree that the section of the community to be benefited is undefined and unlimited. That this is the case would be so even if the endowments were used in connection with Church of England schools throughout England and Wales. In practice, applications for orders under Section 2 were, and are, made by the appropriate diocese and the endowments used for the benefit of Church of England voluntary schools in that diocese.