§ Mr. HENRY WALKERasked the President of the Local Government Board, with reference to the statements in the Minority Report of the Poor Law Commission as to the absence of official statistics in regard to the number of births in Poor Law institutions, the rate of mortality in Poor Law institutions of children between the ages of two and five years, and the rate of mortality under one year of age of infants being maintained on outdoor relief, whether he will request, by circular to boards of guardians or otherwise, that information on these several points shall in future be collected and tabulated, with a view to its inclusion in one of the annual publications of his Department?
§ Mr. BURNSThe recommendations made in the Majority Report and the Minority Report of the Royal Commission are receiving consideration. The recommendations in the former Report, as regards the development of official statistics, cover a somewhat wider range than those in the Minority Report to which my 279 hon. Friend refers; and pending a decision on the whole matter I think it will be better to defer calling for any such special returns as are suggested in the question.