§ MR. J. A. CAMPBELLasked the President of the Local Government Board, Whether his attention has been called to the action of the Town Council of Cheltenham in electing, on 2nd February last, to the office of Medical Officer of Health of that town a gentleman who at the time of his appointment did not possess all the qualifications required under the Orders of the Local Government Board with respect to the appointment and duties of such officers, Section 1, Article 1; whether, in contravention of the said orders, Section 2, Article 4, a notification of the said appointment, instead of being made to the Local Government Board within seven days, was delayed until the 25th of February, by which time the gentleman elected had furnished himself with the qualification of which he was deficient at the time of his election; and, what steps the Local Government Board propose to take in the matter?
MR. GEORGE RUSSELL(who replied) said: It appears that the Town Council of Cheltenham, last month, appointed to the office of Medical Officer of Health a gentleman who at that time possessed a surgical qualification only. He had since obtained a medical qualification. The appointment was not reported to the Board within the time required by the regulations. The Board have asked for particulars as to the appointment; but I may state that, seeing that the gentleman elected has now both a medical and a surgical qualification, the Board would not regard the fact that at the time of election he had one qualification only as being in itself a sufficient ground for withholding their sanction to the appointment.