SIR WALTER FOSTER (Derbyshire, Ilkeston)To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he has considered the difficulty which poor women may experience in getting assistance in their confinements in corsequence of unregistered midwives being afraid to attend, as in the Smallburgh Union; and whether he can take steps to point out to boards of guardians the duty of the relieving officer to grant midwifery orders to women destitut of the means of procuring medical attendance.
(Answered by Mr. Gerald Balfour.) At present I am not aware that boards of guardians and relieving officers generally do not realise their duty in this matter, but I am making some inquiry on the subject, and particularly as regards the Smallburgh Union.