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The poor law scheme of the county councils' association
Public Health THE JOURNAL OF
Th¢ Society of Medical Officers of Heahh. No. 7. -~
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T H E P O O R L A W S C H E M E OF T H E COUNTY COUNCILS' ASSOCIATION. E County COuncils' Association have reT Hcently published a document of the highest
importance, which should be carefully studied by medical officers of health throughout the country. \Ve refer to the Report of the Poor Law Committee of the Association, which was adopted by the Executive Council at a special meeting on January 24th, and was published, together with various criticisms from representative authorities on Poor Law administration, in pamphlet form earl)" in March. The Report, which is ful!y set out in our present issue, puts forward a scheme of Poor Law reform which has won the general approval of the Poor. Law Comrfiissioners. Lord George Hamilton claims it as an endorsement of the Majority Report, while Mrs. Sidney Webb reg a r d s it as " a compromise between the ideas of the Majority a n d Minority Reports respectively." The scheme, as might be expected, is eminently practical. It is the work of experienced administrators, men thoroughly conversant with the conditions of local government; and backed by the authority of the important Association from which it emanates, and by the approval of the leaders of the schools of thought represented by the Majority and Minority Reports, i t takes a commanding position in the present Poor Law controversy, and probably indicates the lines on which the reform of the Poor Law will proceed when that question comes to be dealt with by the legislature. It is true that the scheme only applies to the districts under the administration of the County Councils, but there is no reason why, on its main lines, it should not be extended to the large towns. The scheme recommends that the unit for supervision should be that of the administrative County or Count), Borough, and that District Poor Boards should be formed for local administration. All grades of mentally defective persons /
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are to be removed out of the Poor Law altogether and, together with all the work of the ('ounty Councils in connection with lunatic asylums, to be handed over to a Government' Department. It is recommended that the treatment of the unemployed should also be transferred to a Government Department, and that all Poor L a w schools should be under the Education Committee. The medical proposals specially deserve the attention of medical officers of health, for if carried into effect they will iff¢olve a considerable re-organisation of the public health service, which probably would not be confined to county areas. The scheme proposes that in each countyarea there shall be one county medical service, including whole-time and part-time officers, serving all the County Council Committees--Poor Law, Health and Education--under the county medical officer of health, whowould superintend the indoor staff of the infirmaries as well as the outdoorcountyand district medical officers. In recommending the establishment of a unified county medical service the scheme of the County Councils' Association, which follows closely that laid down in the Minority Report of the Poor Law Commission, is in accordance with recent developments of local government, which tend more and more not only to increase the responsibilities of the .County Councils in relation to public health, but also to the unification of the various departments of medical work carried out by local authorities. The scheme, it will be noted, only lays down the main outlines of reform, and makes no attempt to formulate a detailed plan of administration. On the details there must inevitably be differences of opinion, and in the end it will no doubt be found that scope must be left for local variations depending on differences in local conditions. But so far as the main features of the scheme are concerned, the County Councils' Association may justly claim that they have produced a generally acceptable plan of Poor Law reform.
Th¢ Society of Medical Officers of Heahh. No. 7. -~
~--=
A P R I L , i9Ii. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
= -
~ =
~
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::
= z
_=-
:
~
-
=-=
T H E P O O R L A W S C H E M E OF T H E COUNTY COUNCILS' ASSOCIATION. E County COuncils' Association have reT Hcently published a document of the highest
importance, which should be carefully studied by medical officers of health throughout the country. \Ve refer to the Report of the Poor Law Committee of the Association, which was adopted by the Executive Council at a special meeting on January 24th, and was published, together with various criticisms from representative authorities on Poor Law administration, in pamphlet form earl)" in March. The Report, which is ful!y set out in our present issue, puts forward a scheme of Poor Law reform which has won the general approval of the Poor. Law Comrfiissioners. Lord George Hamilton claims it as an endorsement of the Majority Report, while Mrs. Sidney Webb reg a r d s it as " a compromise between the ideas of the Majority a n d Minority Reports respectively." The scheme, as might be expected, is eminently practical. It is the work of experienced administrators, men thoroughly conversant with the conditions of local government; and backed by the authority of the important Association from which it emanates, and by the approval of the leaders of the schools of thought represented by the Majority and Minority Reports, i t takes a commanding position in the present Poor Law controversy, and probably indicates the lines on which the reform of the Poor Law will proceed when that question comes to be dealt with by the legislature. It is true that the scheme only applies to the districts under the administration of the County Councils, but there is no reason why, on its main lines, it should not be extended to the large towns. The scheme recommends that the unit for supervision should be that of the administrative County or Count), Borough, and that District Poor Boards should be formed for local administration. All grades of mentally defective persons /
=
_
:
.
.
VOL. XXIV. .
.
.
:
:_
_
.:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
~
are to be removed out of the Poor Law altogether and, together with all the work of the ('ounty Councils in connection with lunatic asylums, to be handed over to a Government' Department. It is recommended that the treatment of the unemployed should also be transferred to a Government Department, and that all Poor L a w schools should be under the Education Committee. The medical proposals specially deserve the attention of medical officers of health, for if carried into effect they will iff¢olve a considerable re-organisation of the public health service, which probably would not be confined to county areas. The scheme proposes that in each countyarea there shall be one county medical service, including whole-time and part-time officers, serving all the County Council Committees--Poor Law, Health and Education--under the county medical officer of health, whowould superintend the indoor staff of the infirmaries as well as the outdoorcountyand district medical officers. In recommending the establishment of a unified county medical service the scheme of the County Councils' Association, which follows closely that laid down in the Minority Report of the Poor Law Commission, is in accordance with recent developments of local government, which tend more and more not only to increase the responsibilities of the .County Councils in relation to public health, but also to the unification of the various departments of medical work carried out by local authorities. The scheme, it will be noted, only lays down the main outlines of reform, and makes no attempt to formulate a detailed plan of administration. On the details there must inevitably be differences of opinion, and in the end it will no doubt be found that scope must be left for local variations depending on differences in local conditions. But so far as the main features of the scheme are concerned, the County Councils' Association may justly claim that they have produced a generally acceptable plan of Poor Law reform.