§ Mr. STAVELEY-HILLasked the President of the Local Government Board whether he was aware that boards of guardians had not accepted his advice to grant gratuities to vaccination officers to make up for the loss of income caused by the increased number of exemption certificates granted and to increase the fees where the deficiency was likely to be per- 1097 manent; and whether he proposed to take further action with the object of bringing the matter to a satisfactory settlement?
§ The PRESIDENT of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. Burns)The statement in the first part of the question is hardly correct. In many cases boards of guardians have, with the Board's sanction, compensated the vaccination officer for loss of income by granting gratuities and by raising the fees. As the hon. Member will see if he refers to my speech on the Estimate of the Local Government Board, if any cases of hardship arise, and they are brought to my notice by the vaccination officer, I shall be prepared to consider them and to take such action as may be practicable.
§ Mr. STAVELEY-HILLasked the President of the Local Government Board whether he had received a copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of the Poor Law Unions Association of England and Wales, expressing the opinion that continued applications by vaccination officers to boards of guardians for gratuities to make up the deficiency in income caused by the increasing number of exemption certificates granted is open to considerable objection, and that the Vaccination Order, 1898, should be amended so as to provide for a fee to be paid to the officer for registering exemption certificates; and whether he would act on the suggestion of this representative association?
§ Mr. BURNSIn September last I received a letter from the secretary of the association, making the suggestion mentioned, but the matter does not appear to be one in which the general action proposed would be justified.