§ Colonel WEDGWOODasked the Minister of Health whether he will inquire whether the Wandsworth guardians are putting any pressure upon any applicants for relief to sign a statement as to their willingness to emigrate?
§ Sir A. MONDI have made inquiries, and an informed that while the members of one relief committee in this union have suggested to young men appearing before them the desirability of making inquiries about the Australian Government scheme for emigration, no applicant for relief was asked to sign such a statement as is suggested, and no pressure was put upon anybody.
§ Mr. BOWERMANasked the Minister of Health, with regard to the recent White Paper purporting to give particulars of the financial results of the operation of the Local Authorities (Financial Provisions) Bill, as introduced by the Government, whether the estimated cost of the expenditure on outdoor relief, namely, £1,355,000 for the current half-year, as stated in White Paper, Cmd. 1533, is the cost as estimated by the various London boards of guardians; is this expenditure according to the scale and conditions to be prescribed by him, having regard to the fact that the cost of outdoor relief to rank for equalisation for the current half-year will be dependent on the scale and conditions to be prescribed by him; and may it be taken that the rates will be increased or decreased, as the case may be, in each union to the extent stated in the White Paper above referred to?
417W
§ Sir A. MONDThe estimate was based on information supplied by officers of the guardians, on the facts then known to them, and it is subject to modification in so far as any expenditure on out-relief may exceed the scale or contravene the conditions to be prescribed. How far this estimate will correspond with the actual increase or decrease of rates must necessarily depend upon a variety of factors, including, of course, the increase or decrease of the numbers of cases dealt with by the guardians.