§ 23. Mr. T. SMITHasked the Minister of Health the numbers of county borough, county (excluding London), non-county borough, urban district, and rural district councils, respectively, in England and Wales, administering each of the following services: maternity and child welfare, supervision of midwives, tuberculosis under the Public Health (Prevention and Treatment of Diseases) Act, 1913, treatment of the blind under the Public Health Act, 1925, treatment of persons of unsound mind, registration of nursing and maternity homes, hospitals (other than for infectious diseases) under Section 131 of the Public Health Act, 1875, and infectious diseases hospitals; and if he will consider the inclusion of such analysed information in the annual report of the Ministry?
Sir H. YOUNGWith the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate this information in the OFFICIAL REPORT. As 2081 regards the last part of the question, I will consider whether information of this kind can conveniently be included in future annual reports of the Ministry of Health.
§ Following is the information:
| ENGLAND (EXCLUDING LONDON) AND WALES. | |||||
| Numbers of Local Authorities administering various Services. | |||||
| Services. | Numbers of Councils administering these Services. | ||||
| Counties. | County Boroughs. | Non-County Boroughs. | Urban Districts. | Rural Districts. | |
| Maternity and Child Welfare | 61 | 83 | 138 | 108 | 14 |
| (including 3 1 which exercise their functions through Joint Committees). | |||||
| Supervision of Midwives | 61 | 83 | 25 | 6 | — |
| Tuberculosis under the *Public Health (Tuberculosis) Act, 1921. | 61 | 83 | — | — | — |
| (including 3 4 which exercise their functions through Joint Committees). | |||||
| Treatment of the Blind under the Public Health Act, 1925. | 16 | 4 | — | — | — |
| Treatment of persons of unsound mind. | 61 | 83 | 14 | — | — |
| (including 3 33 which exercise their functions through Joint Boards). | |||||
| Registration of Nursing and Maternity Homes. | 61 | 83 | † | † | † |
| Hospitals (other than for infectious diseases) under Section 131 of the Public Health Act, 1875.‡ | 2 | 29 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Infectious Diseases Hospitals | 18 | 71 | 122 | 114 | 149 |
| (including those which exercise their functions through Joint Hospital Boards or Isolation Hospital Committees). | |||||
| * This is the statute under which Local Authorities provide institutional treatment for tuberculosis. Supplementary and ancillary arrangements for the treatment of this disease have been made by many Local Authorities under the Public Health (Prevention and Treatment of Disease) Act, 1913, but no complete record of the number of such Authorities is available. | |||||
| † Section 9 (2) of the Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1927, empowers the council of a county, on the application of the council of any county district within the county, to delegate any of its powers and duties under the Act to the council of that district. There is no complete information as to the action taken under this Sub-section. | |||||
| ‡ Excluding also hospitals administered in connection with the maternity and child welfare and tuberculosis services mentioned above. |