§ MR. PICKERSGILL (Bethnal Green, S. W.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the statements made by Mr. William Booth as to the condition of casual wards, and confirmed by a letter published in the Standard of the 18th instant, signed "A Private Inquiry Officer," who, professing to write from "personal experiences last summer" of 36 casual wards 1232 in various parts of the country, states that—
The blankets, bedding (when there is any), and the boards are swarming with vermin, and are a disgrace to the Inspectors or supervisors of the parishes to which they belong;and whether he is in a position to contradict these statements; and, if not, whether he will direct the Inspectors of the Local Government Board to give special attention to the condition of the casual wards?
§ MR. LONGThe attention of the Local Government Board has been drawn to the statements referred to, including those in the letter signed "A Private Inquiry Officer" which appeared in the Standard newspaper. It will be realised, when the class of persons who usually frequent the casual wards is borne in mind, that it is not always easy to keep the wards entirely free from vermin, but I have no reason to doubt that proper efforts are made to secure this. The casual wards of the workhouse should, of course, receive the attention of the Inspector as much as any other wards of the workhouse, and the Inspectors are fully aware of this. If the Board receive from the hon. Member, or from the writer of the letter referred to, any definite statements with regard to any particular casual ward, they will be quite prepared to cause special inquiry to be made as to the allegations.