HC Deb 11 February 1926 vol 191 cc1261-2W
Mr. SCURR

asked the Minister of Health how many boards of guardians applied for permission to borrow for meeting the cost of relief during 1925; what was the amount of loans granted by the Goschen Committee: and how many applications were refused?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

Fifty boards of guardians applied for sanction to the raising of loans or overdrafts for the purpose of meeting their current expenditure during the year 1925. In one case the anticipated need for borrowing did not in fact materialise. The loans advanced by the Ministry on the recommendation of the Goschen Committee amounted to £869,622. In no case have loans or overdrafts necessary for the conduct of union business been refused, but there was one instance in which the guardians refused for a time to accept a loan offered to them on certain conditions laid down by the Gosehen Committee.

Mr. LANSBURY

asked the Minister of Health how many boards of guardians in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan area, have, during the past three years, applied to the Ministry of Health for sanction to obtain loans for the payment of relief; in how many instances did the Minister refuse sanction and the reason for such refusal; in how many cases did the Minister refuse sanction because he disagreed with the scale of relief being paid; and will he state the scales objected to and the scales finally adopted?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

Sixty-seven boards of guardians have during the past three years applied (some of them on a number of occasions) for sanction to the raising of temporary loans or overdrafts to meet current expenditure. In no instance has such a sanction been refused if the need for borrowing was established and there has been no case in which the funds necessary for the conduct of their business has not been made available to the guardians. In one instance it was intimated that sanction would not be forthcoming unless the guardians complied with the law as regards the relief of persons engaged in a trade dispute, and in a few instances a reduction of the scale of relief or of allowance was required. I will send the hon. Member the details for which he asks as regards these cases.