FIRES IN SCHOOLS

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 48, 20 November 1926, Page 8

FIRES IN SCHOOLS

COST OF RE.ERECTION ‘ NO LOSS TO CURRENT REVENUE Combating the suggestion that an outbreak of fire in a school would cause actual loss to current revenuej the Minister of Education (Hon. R. A. Wright), in reply to a question yesterday, explained that by section 133 of the Public Revenues Act, 1926, the Public Trustee had in hand an Insurance Fund which could under the Act reach a maximum of £lOO,OOO, and towards which the Government p.aid from the Consolidated Fund £IO,OOQ per annum. “This,” said the Minister, “has been the practice since 1012. The insurance fund was intended to cover risks on all Government buildings throughout the Dominion, but as in the year 1921 the destruction of several large city schools made serious inroads into the fund it was decided that the Education Department should pav in addition the sum of £lO,OOO a vear, practically thereby covering its own buildings. “The policy adopted in the case of a fire is that 'a claim is made on the Insurance Fund for the cost of re-erec-tion of a building’of the same capacity as that destroyed and of the same material. If the capacity is greater, or the material is brick instead of wood, the Education Purposes Loan Account is charged with the extra cost. “The present value of buildings covered bv the £lO,OOO insurance is approximately £5,000,000. For the year ending March 31 last the insurances paid bv the Public Trustee totalled only £5OOO. This was certainly a light vear as regards fires, and it is probable this vear that the losses will total at least'£l.o,ooo. Even so, the damage is covered bv 4s. per £lOO, which is, of course, a ’ much cheaper rate than is offered bv an insurance company.”