Mr. JENKINSasked the Minister of Health the rate poundage cost of public 2227W assistance in Chislehurst, Kent; the number of persons per thousand in receipt of public assistance; and similar information for Monmouthshire?
§ Sir K. WOODThe rate poundages for public assistance as shown in the precepts of the Kent and Monmouthshire County Councils for the first half of 1936–37 are 1s. 0¾d. and 4s. 2¾d. respectively before making allowance for the block grants payable under the Local Government Act, 1929, towards local gov-2228W ernment expenses generally. The block grants are equivalent in the half-year to rate poundages of 11d. in Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District in Kent and 5s. 10½d in an urban district in Monmouthshire which may be regarded as typical. The returns made to my Department show the number of persons in receipt of poor relief in the county as a whole. The average number per 1,000 of the population is at the present time 19.3 in Kent and 57.4 in Monmouthshire.