§ MR. ELLIOTT LEES (Birkenhead)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board, whether his attention has been called to the inequalities of treatment under which butchers and meat salesmen in different parts of the United Kingdom suffer, owing to the want of an uniform system of meat inspection; and, whether he is prepared to take any steps, either by legislation or otherwise, to remove these inequalities?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. HENRY CHAPLIN,) Lincolnshire, SleafordThe provisions of the law as to the powers and duties of Medical Officers of Health and Inspectors of Nuisances with respect to the inspection of meat and the seizure of food which appears to be diseased or unsound or unfit for the food of man, and as to the powers of Justices to order the destruction of meat so seized, are substantially the same throughout England and Wales. The inequalities of treatment which are alleged must be the result of more strict administration in one district than in another; but in this matter the authorities are in no way subject to the jurisdiction of the Local Government Board. Uniformity of administration is no doubt desirable, but it is almost impossible to secure this when the administration is entrusted to a very large number of local authorities.