§ Where in any district there are not in operation arrangements made by the local authority for attending to the health of expectant mothers and nursing mothers, and of children under five years of age, in accordance with Section 3 of the Notification of Births (Extension) Act, 1915, the local supervising authority shall, upon receiving reasonable notice, provide the services of a midwife or a duly qualified medical practitioner for the purpose of attending a woman in childbirth, and the provisions of Sub-section (4) of Section 22 of the principal Act shall apply for the purpose of the local supervising authority recovering such fee in respect of the aforesaid services as may be determined according to a scale fixed by the Scottish Board of Health as they apply to the fee paid to a registered medical practitioner called in in the case of an emergency.—[Mr. Barclay-Harvey.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Mr. BARCLAY-HARVEYI beg to move, "That the Clause be read a Second time."
2278 The object of Clause 1 of the Bill is concerned to improve the service of midwives in Scotland. It was urged in Committee that, as a matter of fact in that Clause we were not doing anything to help poor people to get maternity treatment, and this Clause has been designed to meet this point. I believe we have succeeded in this Clause in meeting the point that was raised in Committee, and it will now be possible to arrange to give this necessary assistance in all cases.
§ Dr. DRUMMOND SHIELSI beg to second the Motion.
§ Clause read a Second time, and added to the Bill.