§ Mr. HENRY WALKERasked the Prime Minister, in view of the fact that not only boards of guardians but also the local public health, education, and sometimes even the police authorities provide maintenance and other assistance in various forms to the non-able-bodied poor, and that there is the greatest variety and confusion in the powers of these several authorities as regards the charge and recovery of the cost so incurred, whether he will appoint an inter-Departmental Committee to consider the whole question of what forms of public assistance can properly be made the subject of assessments and upon what persons these assessments should be made, in order that the law may be amended upon some definite principle and be consolidated by Parliament into a single Statute?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThe subject referred to in the question will receive the attention of the Government in connection with their consideration of the Reports of the Royal Commission on the Poor Law; but I am not prepared, at the moment, to appoint a Departmental Committee, such as my hon. Friend suggests.