§ Mr. WALTER ROCHasked the President of the Local Government Board whether he has definitely refused to sanction the appointment by the Haverfordwest Board of Guardians of an assistant Poor Law officer; and, if so, whether he will give the reason for his refusal?
§ Mr. BURNSThe Local Government Board refused last November to sanction the appointment as relieving officer of a man without Poor Law experience, who was selected by the guardians from a list of eighty candidates, a considerable number of whom had had actual Poor Law experience of one kind or another. I sec no ground for departing from that decision. The reasons for withholding sanction have been explained to the guardians in the course of a lengthy correspondence. I may add that in a circular which I issued to boards of guardians early in 1912 it was intimated that the Local Government Board would not be prepared to sanction the appointment of inexperienced persons as relieving officers when suitable and experienced candidates were available, and that the attention of the Haverfordwest guardians was specially directed to this circular a few days before the appointment was made.