§ MR. FLETCHER (Hampstead)To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that, under The Local Government Act, 1888, the London County Council are required to pay to the guardians of every Poor Law union in the county an amount equivalent to 4d. a day per head for every indoor pauper maintained in that union according to the average number of indoor paupers during the five years ended 25th March, 1888, and can he state how much this payment amounts to for the year ended March, 1906: whether he is aware that this indoor pauper grant in London was intended to be equivalent to the union officers' grant made to guardians by all other county councils, and that, taking this grant into account, the system of 122 Exchequer contributions involves an absolute annual loss to the London County Council; whether he can state the amount of such loss for the year ended March, 1906; if in any other county in England and Wales an actual loss is incurred by reason of the system of grants prescribed, by the Local Government Act, 1888; and whether he is aware that the actual number of indoor paupers in each London union at the present time differs widely from the prescribed average for the five years ended 25th March, 1888, and that the distribution among the London unions is no longer proportionate to their respective needs.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) I am aware of the provisions of The Local Government Act, 1888, with regard to the several grants referred to in the Question. The payments made by the London County Council for each year in respect of the grant for indoor paupers amount to about £327,000. It is the case that the number of in-door poor in the several London unions differs considerably now from the average number during the five years ended at March, 1888. The matter of "loss" referred to by the hon. Member involves considerations which cannot conveniently be dealt with in reply to a Question.