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Equipment, Slough

Volume 498: debated on Thursday 10 April 1952

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17.

asked the Minister of Education whether she is aware that, to meet the cuts in education equipment in Slough, the parents and teachers of two schools are organising jumble sales to enable the equipment to be maintained; and whether she will instruct the Buckinghamshire County Council to reconsider its allocation for educational equipment.

I understand from the authority that there is no reason to suggest that the schools will be prevented from obtaining essential educational equipment.

Might I draw the attention of the Minister to the statements of the headmasters of these schools, who have asked that these jumble sales shall be held because the cut in the programme for this year means that they will be without equipment? While that is admirable action on the part of the headmasters and the parents, is it not a humiliation to our national education scheme that resort is needed to methods of this kind?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman is not aware that the authority's estimates for 1952–53 as compared with 1951–52 have been increased, for the provision of books, stationery and materials, from £4,600 to £7,200 in the case of primary schools and from about £4,600 to over £6,000 in the case of secondary schools.

Is it not a fact that over the last five or six years, and in some cases for even longer, efforts of this kind have been organised on behalf of a great many schools in the country, very largely by parent-teacher associations and like bodies? Does not my right hon. Friend agree that they have done magnificent work in helping many schools out of great difficulties for a long time?

I know that it has been, and is, a common practice to raise by voluntary methods funds for certain things which schools would like to have as extras. However, I assure hon. Gentlemen that there has been this increase in the estimates for books, stationery and materials.

Is the Minister aware that there has been a cut in this year's estimate for this purpose in the Buckinghamshire County Council area, and the facts that she gives about the latest estimate—the original estimate was cut after the receipt of her circular by the county council—are accounted for by the increase in the school population and for the extra prices for equipment in the schools?

I quite agree with the hon. Gentleman that the reason we are spending more on education than ever before is because there has been this increase in the school population and because costs have gone up.