§ Mr. BOWERMAN (for Mr. Pointer)asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that at the King's Norton Union workhouse, Selly Oak, an inmate named George Hooley, of good character, who has had twenty-two years' service in the Army, applied to the guardians for outdoor relief with a view to being in a better position for finding employment; that the guardians informed him that before his application could be considered he would have to take his discharge from the workhouse, find lodgings as a place of residence, and then report himself to the relieving officer; whether he is aware that the chairman of the board has stated that if they granted outdoor relief to a single able-bodied man they would be surcharged; and, if this statement is correct, whether he can take any action in the matter?
§ Mr. BURNSI have had some correspondence with reference to a case in the King's Norton Union, which I take to be 448 the one referred to, but I have not had before me all the details mentioned in the question. The regulations in force in the union provide that every able-bodied person requiring relief shall be relieved wholly in the workhouse, unless his case comes within one of the exceptions specially provided for in the regulations. Subject to the regulations in force, it rests with the guardians to decide in what manner relief, when it is needed, should be given, whether in or out of the workhouse. The Local Government Board cannot interfere with the discretion of the guardians in this respect, nor for the purpose of ordering relief in any individual case, being expressly prohibited by law from so doing.