§ Mr. PAGETasked the President of the Local Government Board whether, having regard to the figures published by the Poor Law Commission showing that the total number of persons given Poor Law relief during the year 1908 was 1,709,436, while the total number of paupers estimated by the customary one-day counts was 753,000, he will arrange to discontinue the publication of estimates based on the one-day counts as conveying an inaccurate impression?
§ The PRESIDENT of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. Burns)The figures quoted from a volume recently issued by the Poor Law Commission are derived from a Return, relating to the year ended September, 1907, which was published by the Local Government Board in 1908. They relate to the, number of persons who received relief at some time during the course of a year. Those figures 1410 are no doubt valuable, but their publication does not seem to me to afford any reason for abandoning the system of obtaining special day-counts of pauperism twice a year, or of founding upon these counts a mean statement of the number of paupers relieved. These counts give the average number of persons who are in receipt of relief at a particular time, and as such do not convey an inaccurate impression.
§ Mr. CHIOZZA MONEYWill the right hon. Gentleman arrange to have periodical reports published?
§ Mr. BURNSI will consider that point. The granting of old age pensions to persons previously disqualified has disturbed, of course, to a considerable extent, the figures.
§ Mr. CHIOZZA MONEYWould not that make the figures more interesting?