PART II.-Miscellaneous amendments.

15. (1) The council of every county shall, subject to the provisions of this section, within two years after the passing of this act, prepare a scheme for the purpose of delegating throughout their county to representative bodies, as defined by this section, some of their powers and duties with respect to elementary education, and shall as soon as may be after the passing of this act obtain information for the purpose of making such a scheme by public local inquiries and other means.

No power of making a by-law under section seventy-four of the elementary education act, eighteen hundred and seventy, or of incurring expenses in respect of capital expenditure or rent on account of the provision or improvement of a public elementary school, and no power to engage, dismiss, or fix the salary of a teacher or of making arrangements under this act for the use of the schoolhouses of voluntary schools or of affording or withdrawing facilities under this act, for the giving of religious instruction of some special character, shall be delegated under the scheme, without prejudice, however, to any power of delegation (otherwise than by scheme) under any other act.

(2) Where powers and duties are delegated to a representative body under a scheme made in pursuance of this section, the county council shall charge on the area for which the representative body acts (in this section referred to as "the delegation area") the whole or some proportion of the expenses of carrying out the powers and duties delegated, or any amount of those expenses which exceeds some specified sum or limit, and may, in addition, if provision is made for the purpose by the scheme, charge on the delegation area any expense which appears to the county council to have been caused by any neglect or default of the representative body to perform the duties delegated to them or through the withholding of any grant due to any such neglect or default.

(3) The provisions of the scheme, as to the powers and duties delegated and as to the charging of expenses, shall be uniform as respects all the delegation areas in the county. (4) A delegation area must be either a local government area or a combination of local government areas, and the areas combined need not necessarily be contiguous.

A representative body must be either

(a) A body elected for the purpose in manner provided by the scheme by the local government or parochial electors for the delegation area, on which women shall be capable of being elected; or

(b) The council of a local government area, where that is possible owing to the delegation area being a single local government area; or

(r) A body composed of members of the councils of such local government areas wholly or partly situate in the delegation area as the scheme directs and appointed by those councils in such manner and proportions and subject to such conditions as may be provided by the scheme, and, if the scheme so directs, of additional members nominated in manner provided by the scheme, and not exceeding in number one-fourth of the total number of the representative body.

For the purposes of this provision, in the case of a local government area being a parish not having a parish council, parochial electors shall be substituted for members of the parish council, and the parish meeting shall be substituted for the parish council.

Women shall be capable of being nominated as such additional members, and the scheme shall provide for the inclusion of some women amongst the members so nominated.

(5) Every scheme prepared under this section shall be submitted to the board of education and shall be approved by the board if they are satisfied that proper inquiries have been made before preparing the scheme and that an opportunity has been given to persons interested in the matter for expressing their views on any scheme so prepared and that the scheme is within the powers given by this section.

On the approval of a scheme by the board of education, the scheme shall have effect as if enacted by this act.

(6) If, after obtaining information for the purpose of a scheme under this section, the council of a county having a population, according to the last census, of less than sixtyfive thousand pass a resolution that a scheme is not necessary in their case, having regard to the special circumstances of their county, and make a special report on the subject to the board of education, the board of education may, if they think fit, exempt that council from the obligation to make a scheme under this section, but the council may at any time, if they think fit, make such a scheme, although the scheme is not prepared within the time limited by this section.

(7) A scheme under this section may be altered or amended by a subsequent scheme made in accordance with the provisions thereof, and a county council may at any time make such a scheme for the purpose.

(8) A county council shall not be under any obligation to appoint managers under section six of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, for a public elementary school if they consider that the management of the school is properly provided for by

(9) The accounts of the receipts and expenditure of a representative body under this section shall be made up and audited in like manner and subject to the same provisions (including penal provisions) as the accounts of a local education authority: Provided, that if, in any case, the local government board so determine, those accounts shall be audited as accounts of the county council, and in that case the auditor shall have the same power with respect to members of the representative body and their officers as he would have if those members and officers were officers of the county council.

(10) If any local authority who are elected by the local government or parochial electors of their area or any representative body for any delegation area under this section request the council of the county in which the area is situated to incur specially for the benefit of that area expenditure in relation to elementary education beyond the normal expenditure in the rest of the county, the county council may, if they think fit, charge the expenditure so incurred separately upon that area.

(11) In this section

The expression "county" does not include a county borough or the county of London, and does not include any part of a county which is not included in the area of the county council as local education authority under Part III of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two.

The expression "local government area” means a borough, an urban or a rural district, or a parish.

16. (1) A local education authority shall have the same power, exerciseable in the same manner and subject to the same provisions, for the purchase of land either compulsorily or by agreement for the purposes of Part II of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, as they have under the education acts for the puposes of Part III of that act, but the powers given by this section shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any powers for the purpose possessed by the council.

(2) A local education authority may

(i) appropriate, with the consent of the board of education, for the purpose of Part II of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, any land acquired by them for the purposes of Part III of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, or taken over by them under that act as successors of a school board; and

(ii) appropriate, with the consent of the board of education, for the purposes of Part III of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, any land acquired by them for the purpose of Part II of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, either under that act or for similar purposes under any act repealed by that act; and

(iii) appropriate, with the consent of the local government board, for any of the purposes of the education acts, any land acquired by them otherwise than in their capacity as local education authority;

subject in any case to any special covenants or agreements affecting the use of the land in their hands.

(3) Where the capital expenditure in connection with any land appropriated under this section or any loan for the purpose of repaying that expenditure or any part of that expenditure or loan has been or is charged on or raised within any special part of the area of the local education authority, and the board of education or, in the case of land appropriated under this section and not acquired for any of the purposes of the education acts, the local government board are of opinion that the use of the land for the purposes for which it is appropriated will alter the area benefited by the expenditure, the board shall order such equitable adjustment in respect thereof to be made as they think right under the circumstances, and the local education authority shall comply with any order so made.

17. In the application of section sixty-nine of the local government act, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight, to money borrowed after the passing of this act under the education acts by the council of a county, a period not exceeding sixty years shall be substituted for a period not exceeding thirty years as the maximum period within which borrowed money is to be repaid, and any money reborrowed for the purpose of discharging a loan raised for the purposes of the education acts may, if the local government board approve, and subject to such conditions as they impose, be repaid within such period, not exceeding sixty years from the date of the original loan, as the local government board fix.

18. The limit on the amount which may be raised by the council of a county for the purposes of education other than elementary under section two of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, shall cease to operate.

19. If the local government board by general order declare that expenses incurred for particular purposes specified in the order may be properly treated under section eighteen of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, as expenses incurred by way of capital expenditure, no question shall be raised on audit as to the treatment of expenses incurred for those particular purposes in that manner.

20. Where any receipts or payments of money under the education acts are entrusted to any joint education committee established under section seventeen of the education act,

one thousand nine hundred and two, or to any joint body established under section fiftytwo of the elementary education act, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, or otherwise established by two or more local authorities, the accounts of those receipts and payments shall, unless in any case the local government board direct to the contrary, or any provisions to the contrary which have been approved by the local government board are contained in the scheme or instrument establishing the committee or body, be audited as if the joint committee or body were a separate local education authority, and the enactments relating to the audit of the accounts of local education authorities (including the penal provisions of those enactments) shall apply accordingly.

21. (1) The public works loan commissioners may lend to a local education authority any money which that authority are authorised to borrow for the purposes of Part II of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two.

(2) The public works loan commissioners may lend to the governing body of any school or other educational institution not conducted for private profit for the purpose of the provision of buildings (including recreation grounds), equipments or improvements, any sums which that body may borrow, and any loan so made shall bear interest at such rate, not less than three pounds five shillings per cent per annum, as the Treasury may authorise as being in their opinion sufficient to enable those loans to be made without loss to the Treasury. 22. (1) If any question arises

(a) Whether any purpose for which a council wish to exercise their powers under the education acts, is within their powers under those acts; or

(b) Whether any purpose for which a council wish to exercise any powers under the education acts is a purpose of Part II of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, or of Part III of that act; or

(c) Whether any school, college, or hostel is a school, college, or hostel provided by a council, or a school, college, or hostel aided but not provided by a council;

that question shall be referred to and determined by the board of education, and their decision shall be conclusive on the matter.

(2) For the purposes of the education acts, the providing or aiding the provision of any training or instruction of any kind whatever, and any like purpose which the board of education determine to be an educational purpose, shall be deemed to be educational purposes; and the expression "education" in those acts shall be construed accordingly.

23. The owners of a transferred voluntary school shall give the local education authority the right to use, on not more than three days in the week, any room in their schoolhouse out of school hours for any educational purpose, if, in the opinion of the authority, or, in case of dispute, in the opinion of the board of education, there is no suitable accommodation for the purpose in schoolhouses belonging to the authority.

The terms on which the use of any room in a schoolhouse is to be given under this section shall be such as may be agreed upon, or, in default of agreement, settled by the board of education.

24. The powers and duties of a local education authority under Part III of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, shall include

(a) Power to provide, for children attending a public elementary school, vacation schools, vacation classes, play centers, or means of recreation during their holidays or at such other times as the local education authority may prescribe, in the schoolhouse or in some other suitable place in the vicinity, so far as the local education authority in the case of a schoolhouse or place not belonging to them can obtain for the purpose the use of the schoolhouse or place; and

(b) The duty to provide for the medical inspection of children before or at the time of their admission to a public elementary school, and on such other occasions as the board of education direct, and the power to make such arrangements as may be sanctioned by the board of education for attending to the health and physical condition of the children educated in public elementary schools; and

(c) Power to aid by scholarships or bursaries the instruction in public elementary schools of scholars from the age of twelve up to the limit of age fixed for the provision of instruction in a public elementary school fixed by section twenty-two subsection two of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two.

25. Any obligation to frame, form, or keep a register of teachers under paragraph (a) of section four of the board of education act, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, shall cease.

PART III.-Council for Wales.

26. (1) His Majesty may, by order in council, establish a central education authority for Wales, to be called the Council of Wales, consisting of members appointed by the councils of counties and of county boroughs and of any boroughs and urban districts having a population of over twenty-five thousand, according to the census of one thousand

(2) In determining the number of representatives to be appointed by each of those authorities, regard shall be had, among other matters, to population and rateable value: Provided, That the council of each county and of each county borough shall appoint at least two representatives, and that provision shall be made by the order in council, so far as is practicable, for the representation of minorities in the number of representatives appointed by the council of each county and each county borough, and on any executive committee appointed by the council, in the proportion so far as possible of at least one in three.

(3) The Council of Wales shall have power to supply and to aid the supply of education of all kinds in Wales.

(4) The following powers and duties, so far as they relate to Wales, shall, subject to the provisions of this section and to such exceptions as His Majesty may make by order in council, be transferred to the council of Wales:

(a) The powers and duties of the board of education; and

(b) The powers and duties of the board of agriculture with respect to instruction connected with agriculture and forestry; and

(c) The powers and duties of the central Welsh board for intermediate education: Provided, That the following powers and duties shall be reserved to the board of education: (a) Any appeal to the board of education, and the determination of any question under this act, except where the contrary is specially provided in this act;

(b) The power of determining whether any transferred voluntary school shall be discontinued or not;

(c) The regulation and control of State-aided schools; and

(d) All powers and duties of the board of education under the charitable trusts acts, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three to one thousand eight hundred and ninetyfour, and the endowed schools acts, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine to one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine.

In the exercise of any powers or in the performance of any duties transferred under this provision the Council of Wales shall be subject to the control of the treasury.

(5) Any money which may be placed at the disposal of the Council of Wales by Parliament for the purpose of education in Wales, on estimates submitted to Parliament for the purpose by the treasury, shall be administered by that council, subject to the control of the treasury.

(6) The order in council may make provision for the Council of Wales having power to raise any money required by them by means of contributions from the authorities who appoint members of that council, and for the borrowing of money and acquisition and holding of land by the council, and for any other matters for which it is necessary or expedient to make provision for the purpose of enabling the council to perform its duties or exercise its powers.

(7) The accounts of the Council of Wales, whether they relate to money granted by Parliament or not, shall be deemed to be public accounts within the meaning of section thirty-three of the exchequer and audit departments act, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, and shall be examined and audited accordingly.

(8) An order in council made for the purposes of this section may be varied or revoked by any subsequent order so made.

(9) The draft of any order in council proposed to be made under this section shall be laid before each House of Parliament for not less than four weeks during which that House is sitting before it is submitted to His Majesty in council, and if before the expiration of that time an address is presented to His Majesty by both Houses of Parliament against the draft or any part thereof, no further proceedings shall be taken thereon without prejudice to the making of any new draft.

(10) This section shall apply to the county of Monmouth as if it were part of Wales.

PART IV.-Supplemental.

27. (1) If a certificated teacher employed at the time of the passing of this act in an existing voluntary school satisfies the local education authority in whose area the school is situated that he has lost employment, or been obliged to accept employment with a diminished salary, by reason of the school ceasing to be a public elementary school in consequence of this act, and that he has used all diligence to obtain suitable employment, he shall be entitled to be paid by the local education authority such an allowance as the authority think just under the circumstances, not exceeding, in cases where the teacher has suffered complete loss of employment, three times the amount of the yearly salary to which he was entitled on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and six; or, if he was not employed on that day, to which he was entitled when he was last employed previously to that date; and, in the case of a teacher who has been obliged to accept a diminished salary, not exceeding three times the amount by which his salary is diminished.

(2) Any teacher aggrieved by the decision of a local education authority with respect to his application for an allowance under this section may appeal to the board of education, and the board of education, after considering the case, may proceed under this section in the same manner as the local education authority could have proceeded.

(3) Conditions may be attached to the award of any allowance under this section providing for the repayment to the local education authority of some part of the allowance in cases where the teacher obtains employment after the allowance is awarded.

(4) Any allowance awarded under this section by the local education authority or on an appeal by the board of education shall be paid by the local education authority as expenses incurred by them under Part III of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, and shall be a debt due from the authority to the teacher.

(5) A teacher who has received an allowance under this section shall not be entitled to a disablement allowance under section two of the elementary school teachers' superannuation act, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, until the expiration of five years from the date on which the allowance under this section becomes payable, and the local education authority and the board of education on appeal, in considering the amount to be granted as an allowance to a teacher over the age of sixty years, shall take into consideration his right to a pension under that act when he reaches the age of sixty-five.

28. Nothing in this act shall affect the powers of the board of education to aid out of the parliamentary grant schools for blind, deaf, defective, or epileptic children under section twelve of the elementary education (blind and deaf children) act, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, or section seven of the elementary education (defective and epileptic children) act, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, and notwithstanding anything in the education acts, a parliamentary grant may be paid to marine schools, and to the Royal Hospital school, Greenwich, and to schools for demonstration and practice connected with training colleges inspected by the board of education, and to any elementary school which is part of or is held in the premises of any institution in which children are boarded, although the school is not provided by the local education authority.

29. For the purpose of disposing of any questions outstanding under section thirteen of the education act, one thousand nine hundred and two, as to the application of any endowment, the board of education may, on the application of the local education authority, or of any persons appearing to the board of education to be interested, determine not only any question which they have power to determine under that section, but also any question whether any part of the income of an endowment should, under that section, have been paid to the local education authority, and may by any such order determine the proportions in which the income of the endowment should, for the purpose of that act, have been apportioned between the persons entitled thereto, and may indemnify any person in respect of any payment purporting to have been made or withheld in pursuance of that section, notwithstanding that the payment has not been properly so made or withheld.

30. (1) The enactments mentioned in the schedule to this act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that schedule as from the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred and eight, except where an earlier date is specially mentioned in that schedule as respects any repealed enactment.

(2) This act may be cited as the education act, one thousand nine hundred and six, and shall be construed as one with the education acts, one thousand eight hundred and seventy to one thousand nine hundred and three, and those acts and this act are in this act referred to as the education acts, and may be cited as the education acts, one thousand eight hundred and seventy to one thousand nine hundred and six.

(3) This act shall not extend to Scotland or Ireland.