I move:—
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £5,250 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending 31st March, 1949, for Payments under the Vocational Education Acts, 1930 to 1947, and for other purposes connected with Technical Instruction and Continuation Education.
The increased cost arises under sub-head B—Annual Grant to Vocational Education Committees—and under sub-head G—Payments under certain Acts that deal with superannuation and marriage gratuities to officers of vocational education committees. Under sub-head B an additional £5,800 will be required. This is required in connection with increases of salaries and wages from the 1st November, 1948, by reason of the increased payments based on a cost-of-living bonus of 290 as against 270. The additional moneys that will have to be paid by the State to the vocational committees will be £5,800.
Under sub-head G an additional sum of £2,200 will be required. Death gratuities became payable for the first time on the coming into operation on the 14th January, 1948, of the Local Government (Superannuation) Act of 1948. No provision had been made in the Estimate for this contingency, as the Bill was not law when the Estimate was being prepared. It is estimated that something like three death gratuities will have to be paid before the end of this year, at a cost of £1,416. An additional sum of about £800 will be required because the number of marriage gratuities that will be paid this year is higher than the normal number. The average number of marriage gratuities paid to officers leaving the service on marriage over the last five years was 18 per annum. It is estimated this year that marriage gratuities will have to be paid in 38 cases.
