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110
Child-Minders and Private Day Nurseries
Voluntary
Under the National Health Service Act, the Council provides
a service of approved child-minders who, in return for their willingness
to submit to supervision and the Council's requirements,
receive a registration fee of 6s. 0d. per week whilst minding a
child.
Children under the age of 5 years who do not attend school
can be accepted into a minder's home for daily care, the charges
for which are matters for agreement between the minder and the
child's parents. Under existing arrangements no child-minder is
permitted to care for more than two children at any one time and
those who desire to take more than this number are required to
register as statutory child minders under the Nurseries and ChildMinders
Regulation Act, 1948, and are not eligible for registration
fee.
Statutory
Any person who intends to undertake, for payment, the care in
her own home of more than two children under 5 years of age from
more than one household and to whom she is not closely related, or
to open a private day nursery must apply beforehand to the local
health authority for registration under the Nurseries and ChildMinders
Regulation Act, 1948.

Registration of Nursing Homes
In accordance with Part VI of the Public Health Act, 1936,
Part III of the Mental Health Act, 1959, and the Nursing Homes
Act, 1963, registration and inspection of nursing homes is a responsibility
of the local health authority.
For some time authorities have been critical of the weakness
of the legislation in the Public Health Act, the lack of preciseness
of which has led to varying standards in different areas.