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20
The grants are given free or at a reduced cost in conformity
with a scale of income agreed to by the Borough Council and
approved by the Ministry of Health already reported.
The Borough Council reserves the right in particular circumstances
to vary this scale in favour of the applicant, subject to
every case of alteration being specially sanctioned by the SubCommittee.
Each applicant for a grant has to fill up and sign a printed
form of application.
The family is then visited by the Health Visitor or Maternity
Superintendent, who, after full consideration of the home circumstances
and condition of the mother and children, recommends
a grant of milk and/or dinners.
Thereafter the Medical Officer of Health immediately reviews
the whole case, increases the grant recommended, if need be,
and an order is forthwith sent to the milkman or dinner centre,
and information of the grant is sent to the applicant.
Urgent cases are dealt with at once before enquiries are completed,
and the grants are re-adjusted later when full information
has been received.
All grants are periodically reviewed by a Sub-Committee of
the Borough Council, which sits for about one-and-a-half to two
hours every alternate Monday afternoon. In this connection it is
pleasing to record that a grant has never been refused to any
necessitous mother or child.
Generally speaking, grants to children between 1 and 5 years
are only made in cases of illness, where a medical certificate is
furnished.
During the year 1926, 1,533 applications were received, an
average of 128 per month; 433 families received grants in respect
of these applications ; the largest proportion of applications was
made during the June quarter, 1926. Many applications related
to both mother and child, and in respect of 1,501 applications 1,607