the pension book for her use. He reported the case to the Pension Officer, who said that it was ' no business of his.'" It is clear from reports received from all over the country that the conditions prevailing in this Union are by no means exceptional.[1]
A return of the L.C.C. for the first quarter of 1911 showed that there were 60,500 pensioners in London at that date. This represents at a moderate estimate an addition of half a million to the cost of outdoor relief in the metropolis. The total out-relief for all classes in 1910 was only £307,231.
Certain other Forms of Relief outside the Poor Law.
But there still remains an appreciable amount of public relief administered by bodies other than Boards of Guardians. For example, many Borough Councils provide sanatorium relief. Some outside London have their own sanatoria. The L.C.C, in addition to the outdoor relief and medical treatment of school-children, maintain a large number of defective children in residential homes, where they are provided with board and lodging, of the cost of which the parents bear a very small proportion. Again, they spend a large sum—last year £128,000—in scholarships, or maintenance allowance for the children of poor parents, which cannot be ignored when we are considering the question of public expenditure upon relief. Neither can we leave out of consideration the Insurance Act, which came into operation in July, and which to the extent of "ninepence for fourpence" is admittedly eleemosynary. It is clear that this measure, whatever its advantages, must result in a large subsidy to the wages of the working classes.
- ↑ Note.—Cf. a recent report by the Committee of the Central Poor Law Conference and a report by Mr Rutherglen, Superintendent Relieving Officer to the Wandsworth Board of Guardians, October 1912.
