§ SIR CHAELES WELBY (Nottinghamshire, Newark)To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that, in the case of an isolation hospital having no resident medical officer, it is customary for the local practitioners to attend their own patients; and whether, in the event of any such practitioner being a member of the local authority to which such hospital belongs, it is the practice of the Local Government Board to take any steps to prevent the recovery by him of the usual fees paid by the local authority in such case.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) I believe that not infrequently patients in isolation hospitals are attended by their own. medical men. I am not aware of any case in which the Local Government Board have taken steps to prevent the recovery of fees in such circumstances, but I think it right to draw attention to the provision in Section 12 of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, which disqualifies a person for being a councillor of a borough if he has directly or indirectly by himself, or his partner, any share or interest in any contract or employment with, by, or on behalf of the council. There is a similar provision in the Local Govern- 68 ment Act, 1894, as regards members of urban or rural district councils.