§ Mr. PENNEFATHERasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Exchequer contribution grant to Poor Law unions are still based on the expenditure of over 30 years ago; if the municipal corporations have endeavoured to have these grants revised in accordance with present-day expenditure on the ground that much of it is of a national character; and, if so, what reply has been given to them; and what was the proportion of grant to expenditure in 1913 and what the proportion now is?
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§ Sir R. HORNEThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and as regards the detailed information requested in the last part, I must refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health. I am not clear as to what particular communications from the municipal corporations are referred to, but the attitude of the Government in regard to the revision of the grants to local authorities in respect of semi-national services in general, and the Poor Law service in particular, is summarised in the reply given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for Frome (Mr. Hurd) on the 25th October last, of which I am sending him a copy.