55.
asked the Minister of Education the total cost to local education authorities of grants to students in training at universities and training colleges for 1952 and 1953, respectively; and whether she will relieve local education authorities of this cost by taking over the entire responsibility for such grants.
I assume that the hon. Member has in mind only the grants for incidental expenses paid to intending teachers. I am circulating the figures below. They relate to the academic years 1951–52 and 1952–53 which are the last years for which figures are available. The whole of the cost of the professional year at university departments of education is now borne by the Exchequer. Apart from this, the answer to the second part of the Question is "No."
| — | Academic Year, 1951–52 | Academic Year, 1952–53 |
| £ | £ | |
| Incidental expenses grants at Training Colleges | 409,811 | 452,667 |
| Incidental expenses grants paid to intending teachers during the period of their degree courses at Universities* | 37,399 | 20,279 |
| £447,210 | £472,946 | |
| * These relate to students admitted to universities before the abolition of the system whereby grants were paid under the Training of Teachers Regulations for "four year" courses of t raining at universities. | ||