HC Deb 28 February 1895 vol 31 cc52-3
MR. B. L. COHEN (Islington, E.)

I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether his attention has been drawn to the inquest on the death of Mrs. Mary Linge, at the Poplar Workhouse on the 23rd inst., when the jury returned a verdict that the deceased died from heart failure, and that the separation of the old couple accelerated her death; and whether the rules of the workhouse necessitated the separation of Mr. and Mrs. Linge, who were stated to have lived in the parish all their lives, the man earning his living and keeping the home going until the present year, when for the first time, he being in his 70th and his wife in her 68th year, they sought outdoor relief, until eventually they had no resource but the workhouse, upon entering which they were separated?

MR. SHAW-LEFEVRE

My attention has been called to the case referred to, and I have been in communication with the Guardians with respect to it. The Guardians state that the deceased had been in receipt of outdoor relief for about eight months prior to her admission to the workhouse, and it was on the advice of the medical officer of the district, based upon the insanitary condition of her home and her increasing infirmity, that it was considered to be essential that she should enter the infirm ward of the workhouse. It is stated that when she was admitted to the workhouse on the 11th February she was feeble but did not complain of illness. The nurse states that she required considerable attention, and would not have been a suitable case for the married couples quarter, and that she made no complaint to her during the time she was in the workhouse of being separated from her husband. At the same time, it appears that there is only accommodation at the workhouse for eight married couples living together, and the Guardians are endeavouring to provide increased accommodation of this kind. I am also informed that the Guardians resolved at their last meeting that the workhouse should not be offered to aged couples, but that adequate outdoor relief should be given in all such cases, until additional accommodation for married couples had been provided.