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Home Helps.
The Council's scheme for the provision of home helps
for mothers during confinement, which has been in operation
since 1920, was extended during 1944 to enable home helps to be
granted to mothers who, for reasons of ill-health at any time,
are temporarily unable to look after their young children.
Home helps were supplied in 58 cases at a cost of
£174 10s. 0d.
Domestic Helps.
During the year attention was drawn to the position
of sick or infirm persons (whether through old age or otherwise)
who were unable to obtain domestic help, and the Ministry of
Health requested the Council to organise a service to provide
such help in the more serious cases of hardship. The necessary
powers were conferred on the Council by Defence Regulation 68E.
The principal functions of the Council are-
(a) To appoint, and maintain a register of
domestic helpers available for work at any time, and
to arrange for their payment;
(b) To determine who are the most, urgent of the
applicants for help; and
(c) To assess what part of the cost of the help
provided should be recovered from each household and
to secure its payment.
The Council approved a suitable scheme on the 20th
February, 1945, but great difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining the necessary domestic helpers. The following is a
summary of the action taken during the year;-
Applications received 40
Applications refused on the
grounds of unsuitability 11
Applications withdrawn 10
Applications granted 19
Of the 19 applications granted, 12 were supplied
with domestic helpers, but in the remaining 7 cases no assistance
could be given as the necessary domestic help was not available.
With a view to overcoming the difficulties experienced,
it was decided to appoint a whole-time Almoner who commenced
duty in 1946.