§ Mr. LEES SMITHasked the President of the Local Government Board whether the almost universal prohibition of outdoor relief to the able-bodied man, proposed by the new draft order under consideration, will, as drafted, apply also to the wives and children of such men; whether this prohibition of the outdoor relief now given in many unions will mean (otherwise than under exceptional circumstances, in periods of special distress) that no form of relief will be henceforth practically available for such women and children other than admission to the general workhouse; whether the reception of children into the workhouse is contrary to the present policy of the Local Government Board; and whether he is aware that the continuance of the general workhouse, for any class whatsoever, was condemned by every member of the recent Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, including the late permanent secretary to the Local Government Board and its present senior medical inspector?
§ Mr. BURNSThe effect of the Order suggested by the Departmental Committee, so far as regards the relief of the wives and children of able-bodied men who are themselves relieved in a workhouse, would be similar to that of the Orders at present in force. I may point out, however, that the Modified Workhouse Test Order, which permits outdoor relief to the wives and children of men who are relieved in a workhouse, is now in force in only a very small number of unions, whereas under the draft Order this form of relief could be employed, subject to the Board's consent, by any Board of Guardians who may desire to adopt it. I do not find that the draft Order necessarily involves the placing of children in a general workhouse. Apart from the provisions of the Boarding-out Orders, the institutional relief which the Order in question contemplates would, in the case of children, comprise such Poor Law establishments as separate schools, cottage homes, certified schools, and other similar institutions.