§ MR. W. WHITELAWI beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland whether a Local Authority is bound to take charge of, and bear the expenses incurred by cases of smallpox which occur in Her Majesty's prisons, and the burial expenses in case of death?
§ SIR G. TREVELYANWhen a prison officer or prisoner suffering from an infectious disease is removed to an hospital established under the Public Health Act at the cost of the rates, it is considered that the contribution in lieu of local rates made by the Government in respect of the prison entitles them to the benefits enjoyed by other ratepayers and consequently no additional payment is made. The funeral expenses 1353 only fall on the Local Authorities in the case of the death of a prisoner who has been discharged from custody or whose sentence has expired. No case of an officer dying in an hospital has occurred.