§ MR. ALDEN (Middlesex, Tottenham)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will state the unions in which the modified labour test has been sanctioned by his Department; and what are the conditions which must be complied with and the evidence which must be produced by a board of guardians before this method of dealing with distress due to want of employment can be adopted.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSThe order to which my hon. friend refers is, no doubt, that which is known as the modified workhouse test order, and which prescribes regulations where relief is given out of the workhouse to the wife and family of any able-bodied male person who is relieved in the workhouse. There is a permanent order in force at Poplar. The ordinary orders are only issued for a limited period in particular cases. Such an order is in force at present in the Poor Law unions of Fulham, Kensington, Wandsworth and West Ham, and is about to be issued to Woolwich. No special conditions have been prescribed which must be complied with before the order is issued. Application must be made by the guardians who desire to have the order, and the application should be accompanied by a statement of the grounds on which it is made.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSI cannot say.