§ Mr. GRUNDYasked the Minister of Health whether he has received any complaints about the casual ward at Thame, in particular on the ground that no bath, no shirts and no washing facilities are provided; that clothes are taken into the sleeping place without any attempt at cleansing; that there is no partition between the sleepers; that no mattress or pillow are provided; and that a large number of men are bolted in each room together with no light after 8 p,m.; and whether he is taking steps to bring this ward up to the standard laid down by his Department?
§ Sir K. WOODMy right hon. Friend has received no complaints from casuals about this ward, but the reports of in-34W spectors of my Department and of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxford Joint Vagrancy Committee have drawn attention to certain of the defects to which the hon. Member refers. The joint committee and the guardians and officers of my Department are in consultation as to the improvement of the administration in these wards.
§ Mr. GRUNDYasked the Minister of Health whether he has received any requests from vagrancy committees or boards of guardians requesting permission to give she able-bodied inmates' dietary to casuals where such committees or boards of guardians consider it desirable; and whether he will give favourable attention to this request?
§ Sir K. WOODThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. My right hon. Friend is satisfied that much of the difficulties at present attending the administration of the relief of the casual poor arises from lack of uniformity in the observance of the provisions contained in the Casual Poor (Relief) Order, 1925, and he is accordingly unable to contemplate the introduction of new variations from those provisions. My right hon. Friend is advised that the dietary contemplated by the Order is sufficient for the maintenance of normal health and strength.
§ Mr. GRUNDYasked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that in Wallingford casual ward men are obliged to sleep herded together on the floor without beds, hammocks, or partitions of any kind, and will he issue Regulations enforcing the proper standard of sleeping accommodation for the casuals?
§ Sir K. WOODThere has been a steady increase in the number of tramps using this casual ward. The wards have been twice extended daring the past five years, and further proposals for extension are now under consideration.