§ Mr. R. RICHARDSONasked the Minister of Health whether the recent Official Statement of the Statutory Provisions and Administrative Orders for Public Assistance, including Poor Law, was sanctioned by him; whether his attention has been called to the statement therein (paragraph 9) that even during the worst periods of industrial depression a number of boards of guardians were acting in the light of the general recommendations as to policy made by the central board, and that certain boards of guardians had refused to give outdoor relief to able-bodied persons at all, and that there was no evidence before the Department of more acute distress in these areas than in those with less restricted relief; will he state the names of those unions and whether they gave medical relief in sickness to the wives and children of the able-bodied men without requiring the men to come into the workhouse; whether they received and considered applications made by the wives on their own behalf for medical out-relief; whether the central board had any medical inspection of the children of the necessitous able-bodied men; and, if not, what evidence, if any, had the board that there was not more acute distress than in cases with less-restricted relief?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYThe statement to which my hon. Friend refers is an Appendix to the Report of a Departmental Committee and is not a document for which any Minister is responsible. The opinion expressed in the Report issued in 1922 by my Department, an extract of which is included in that statement, was based on the general knowledge in the possession of the Department, and no special medical inspection such as is suggested in the last part of the question has been or indeed could be made by the Department. It is, however, an established principle of Poor Law administration that outdoor relief may be given in case of sickness, and that applications may be 493W made by a wife on behalf of her husband, and there is no reason to suppose that this practice has been departed from in the unions in which outdoor relief has not been given to the able-bodied.
§ Mr. SUNLIGHTasked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the case of a man aged 86 who died of starvation in February, 1922, in a common lodging house at Shrewsbury, in the Atcham Union; whether the Guardians of Atcham have a rule or practice not to send relief into common lodging houses; whether they have in the last two years given to any persons, and, if so, how many, medical relief or ordinary out-relief in common lodging houses in Shrewsbury; what are the numbers and estimated population of the common lodging houses in Shrewsbury; whether he is aware that both the workhouse and casual ward near Shrewsbury are closed; whether he will direct that they shall be forthwith opened; and whether he will advise the guardians to take steps to induce sick and aged destitute persons in common lodging houses to apply for relief?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYI am obtaining the information which the hon. Member desires, and will communicate with him as soon as possible.