§ Mr. EVELYN CECILasked the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that the public health committee of the Birmingham City Council, following a report adopted by the Association of Municipal Corporations, is of opinion that much could be done for the saving of infant life and for the improvement of the health of young children if the proper local authorities in England and Wales were given the same powers as are bestowed upon Scotch and Irish local authorities by the Notification of Births (Extension) Act, 1915; and whether he will introduce a Bill immediately to grant them these powers?
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§ Mr. HAYES FISHERI have not received information as to the action taken by the public health committee of the Birmingham City Council, but the associations representing local authorities in England and Wales have expressed the view that if these local authorities were given the same powers as those conferred upon the Scotch and Irish local authorities by the Notification of Births (Extension), Act, 1915, the result would be a diminution in the infant mortality rate, and have pressed for the powers referred to. In this view I concur, and, as I have already stated, I am anxious to introduce a Bill conferring these powers on local authorities as soon as circumstances permit.