§ Mr. SANDERSasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the Insurance Commissioners will issue a memorandum to local authorities informing them what duties and powers they will have as to the maintenance in sanatoria of consumptive persons who are not insured and how far the cost of such maintenance can legally be defrayed out of the rates?
§ Mr. BURNSMy right hon. Friend has asked me to reply to this question. Looking to the extensive use which local authorities have made of their power to provide hospitals (which include sanatoria and dispensaries) for the use of the inhabitants of their districts, I doubt whether it is necessary to issue any memorandum explaining their powers. It is the general practice of local authorities to defray the cost of maintenance of patients out of the rates.