Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. : Appendix Volume VI. Minutes of evidence (95th to 110th days and 139th and 149th days) with appendix. [This volume contains the oral and written evidence of witnesses from Scotland. The evidence relating to unemployment will be found in Appendix volume IX].

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. : Appendix Volume VI. Minutes of evidence (95th to 110th days and 139th and 149th days) with appendix. [This volume contains the oral and written evidence of witnesses from Scotland. The evidence relating to unemployment will be found in Appendix volume IX]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    41/1092 (page 23)
    peiiditure 211. There are certain statutory payments not directly t of poor connected witli poor relief which are, however, met out of s on non- the poor rate, such as maintenance and management of old churchyards which have been transferred to the Parish Council under section 30 (6) of the Local Govern- ment (Scotland) Act, 1894; collection of school and special parish rates; and expenses under the Vaccina- tion Act, 1863, the Industrial Schools Act, 1866, and the Infant Life Protection Act, 1897. (c) Illegal Payments. nyments 212. Any payments out of the poor rate for purposes not hich have expressly authorised by or implied from the statutes are sen declared illegal and may be surcharged in the manner described be illegal, hereafter. 213. It would be impossible to describe in detail all the payments which have been declared to be illegal, but I may mention briefly some of the more important ones. Enter- tainments, and the indiscriminate granting of extra aliment to the poor, on New Year's Day or other holidays, being expenditure in excess of necessary maintenance, are illegal. Refreshments at meetings of parish councillors, travelling expenses other than those referred to above as legitimate, payments to members for goods supplied or work done—the last-named in accordance with the Common Law rule that a trustee must not derive benefit from the trust—are equally illegal. Subscriptions to in stitutions which do not benefit the paupers of the parish, donations to the widow of an official of the council, these and many other payments which are not authorised by the statutes have from time to time been declared to be ultra vires of the Parish Council. (d) Method of Payaient. wnintf of 214. All cheques for payment of money must be signed eques by two members of the council and countersigned by the clerk (1894 Act, sec. 53). (e) Audit. 215. The provisions for the audit of Parish Council accounts are contained in sections 68-70 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, as incorporated subject to certain conditions by section 36 of the Local Govern- ment (Scotland) Act, 1894. 216. The Board are the central audit authority. They appoint and remove auditors to audit the accounts of each council and prescribe a table of fees for their re- muneration (1894 Act, sec. 36 (1), (3)). They prescribe the form in which the accounts are to be made up and balanced and rules as to the time and place of audit. They decide all questions raised by an interim report of an auditor, determine as to the legality of the payments reported on, and disallow and surcharge such as are illegal, or if they are of opinion that although a disallowance or ' surcharge might be lawfully made, the subject matter ' thereof was incurred under such circumstances as to make ' it fair and equitable that the disallowance or surcharge ' should not be made, they may abstain from making the ' same (1889 Act, sees. 70 (5) and (6)). Intimation of the proposed surcharge is made to the persons aff'ected, who have an opportunity of defending themselves. The persons surcharged are those making the illegal payment, and this has been interpreted as meaning those who signed the cheque by which such illegal payment was made, and in the case of cash payments the clerk, inspector, treasurer, or other persons responsible for making them. This inter- pretation has been upheld by the Court in Auditor of Lanark v. Lambie, 1905, 7 F. 1049. Every sum so sur- charged must be paid within fourteen days, and if it is not paid it i ^ the auditor's duty to recover it at the expense of the Parish Council (1889 Act, sec. 70 (7)). 217. There are various provisions as to the transmission of the accounts, etc., to the auditor ; deposit of abstract of accounts for inspection by ratepayers ; power of auditors to require production of all books, etc. ; lodging of objec- tions by ratepayers; and the completion of the audit followed by the publication of the abstract of accounts (1894 Act, sec. 36 (4) ; 1889 Act, sec. 70 (2), (3) ; sec. 70 (4); sec. 70 (8). 218. The Board have divided the country into about 100 audit districts, and there are at present over ninety parish auditors. (12) MISCELLANEOUS, (a) Inspectors op Pook. 219. Parish Councils are bound to appoint a fit and qualified person to be inspector of poor, and to fix the amount of salary to be given him, and report his name and address and the amount of salary to the Board (1845 Act, sec. 32). It is not competent to appoint two in- spectors, unless the parish is divided into districts, with one for each, but sub-inspectors may be appointed (Board of Supervision v. Glasgow, 1850, 12 D. 627). 220. It is provided that if any inspector of the poor shall fail or neglect to refuse to perform the duties of his office, or shall, in the opinion of the Board of Supervision, be unfit or incompetent to discharge the duties of his oflice, then it shall and may be lawful for the said Board of Supervision, by a Minute or Order, to suspend or dismiss such inspector (1845 Act, sec. 56); and the parochial board of the parish or combination for -which such person is insjDector shall forthwith proceed to appoint another person to perform the duties of inspector of the poor in the room of the inspector so susjjended or dismissed. It has been held that the Parish Council have no such j)ower of dismissal (Board of Supervision v. Doll, 1855, 17 D, 827 ; Seaton v. Arbroath, 1896, 23 R. 763). This, however, does not apply to sub-inspectors, who may be dismissed by the Parish Council at any time on reasonable notice (Mac- pherson v. Adamson, 1858, P.L.M. 29). 221. The Parish Council fix the salary of the inspector with the approval of the Board, and it has not been definitely decided whether in all cases they are unable to reduce it, but it was held in the case of Board of Supervision v. Old Monldand, 1880, 7 R. 469, they were not entitled in the circumstances of that case to reduce the salary in opposition to the directions of the Board, and it is prob- able that this case would be followed wherever a reduction is proposed in opjjosition to the instruction of the Board. There is no statutory authority by which the inspector can be given a superannuation or retiring allowance. 222. The duties of inspectors are clearly defined by section 55, which provides that — 55. The inspector of the poor in each parish or ' division of a jjarish for which he may be appointed ' shall have the custody of and be responsible for all ' books, writings, accounts, and other documents ' whatsoever relating to the management or relief ' of the poor in such j^arish or division of a parish, and ' it shall be the duty of the said inspector to inquire ' into and make himself acquainted with the particular ' circumstances of the case of each individual poor ' person receiving relief from the poor funds, and to ' keep a register of all such persons and of the sums ' paid to them, and of all persons who have apjDlied ' for and been refused relief, and the grounds of refusal, ' and to visit and inspect ijer.sonally, at least twice m ' the year, or oftener if reijuired by the parochial ' l/oard or Board of Supervision, at their places of ' residence, all the poor persons belonging to the ' parish or division of the parish in the receipt of ' parochial relief, provided that such poor persons be ' resident within five miles of any part of such parish ' or division of a parish, and to report to the parochial ' board and to the Board of Supervision upon all ' matters connected with the management of the poor, ' in conformity with the instructions which he may ' receive from the said Boards respectively, and to * perform such other duties as the said Boards may ' direct: Provided always, that in poj^ulous and ex- ' tensive parishes or divisions of parishes the duties ' of inspecting and visiting the poor may be performed ' by assistant inspectors or other competent jDersons, ' to be appointed and paid by the parochial board ' for these duties, and for whose conduct and accuracy ' the inspector of the poor shall be responsible to the ' Board of Supervision. Inspectors are bound to deal with all applications for relief, even if the applicant has not a settlement in the parish; they must, if he is otherwise legally entitled to relief, furnish him with sufficient means of subsistence till the next meeting of the Parish Council (sec. 70). Thereafter the pauper must have this interim relief continued till his parish of settlement is ascertained, and his claim upon such parish admitted or otherwise determined, or until he is removed. The inspector must give an answer to an application for relief within twenty- four hours, but if he aftbrds interim relief he may delay the final answer for any period necessary to Mr, Ewan Macpherson. 6 May 1907. Appoiatnient of inspector of poor, etc. Tenure of inspectors ol poor. Salary of inspector of poor. Duties of inspector of poor. Appointment of assistant inspectors in populous and extensive parishes. Procedure as to applica- tions for relief.