| AdminHistory | The Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee was founded in November 1927 as a main standing sub-committee of the Education Committee. The new sub-committee was created as a result of a general reorganisation of the duties of the main standing sub-committees. The Government Auditor in his report on the accounts of the Education Committee 1924 - 1925 suggested that on account of the size of the Education service and the amount of public funds involved, a sub-committee should be constituted with the power to co-ordinate all financial matters pertaining to the Education Committee. This would replace the practice of sub-committees superintending their own income and expenditure and giving the Attendance, Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee estimates for presentation to the Education Committee.
It was never intended to invest coordinating financial powers onto the Attendance, Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee with its original constitution as it was felt that any sub-committee with coordinating powers should include a representative of all the other standing sub-committees. Consequently, the existing financial responsibilities of the Attendance, Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee (see BCC/1/BH/7/1) with the new coordinating responsibility were conferred on to the new Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee. The remaining duties of the Attendance, Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee were distributed to the other sub-committees and from November 1927 the Attendance, Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee ceased to exist.
In accordance with its orders of reference the new Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee was made up of eight representatives, one from each of the other standing sub-committees, three other members of the Education Committee and, as for all standing sub-committees, the Chairman of the Education Committee as ex-officio member. The duties of the Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee were outlined by the Education Committee during their reorganisation of the duties of the main standing sub-committees. The sub-committee was to report to the Education Committee on matters not within the remit of other sub-committees. It was to consider the appointment and salaries of head office staff not already addressed by other sub-committees, on relationships with the Universities, on the administration of endowments or charities made available to the Education Committee, on insurance, compensation and superannuation, and on the filling of vacancies on other sub-committees; to submit to the Education Committee annually the estimates of income and expenditure on capital and revenue account; to recommend to the Education Committee for payment accounts certified by other sub-committees or relating to the orders of reference of the sub-committees; to consider the financial aspect of any proposals and projects submitted by other sub-committees; to superintend all income and expenditure and the account keeping of the Education Committee; and to control the operation and keeping of accounts of the School Savings Bank.
The Education Act of 1944 ended the overlapping system of elementary and higher education and introduced a public educational system divided into three stages of primary, secondary and further education. With the passing of the 1944 Act all local education authorities were also obliged to provide meals in all classes of schools and responsibility for the School Meals Service and School Canteens as the Free Meals Centres had become known was transferred from the Elementary Education Sub-Committee (renamed the Primary Education Sub-Committee on 1 April 1945, see BCC/1/BH/2/1) to the Finance and General Purposes Sub-Committee. |