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treatment, such as additional food, change of air, clothing, better home conditions, etc. The Council
formulated a model scheme for the establishment of such committees, prescribing their constitution and
duties. Eight borough councils appointed care committees (two of these combining to form one committee)
in place of the interim committees, leaving interim committees to be appointed by the Council
in the remaining 20 boroughs. The Council urged upon the Ministry of Health the importance of an
early decision as to the constitution and functions of care committees. At the end of 1921 it was hoped
that the Ministry would be able verv soon to issue a circular on the subiect.
The Council on 22nd March, 1921, decided to continue the scheme, in force since 1st January,
1917, for the diagnosis and treatment of veneral diseases. Under this scheme the Council has joined
with the county councils of Buckingham, Essex, Hertford, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey, and the county
boroughs of Croydon, East Ham and West Ham to utilise the facilities afforded by certain London
hospitals for diagnosis and treatment, and (except as regards Kent) to provide laboratory facilities for
aid in diagnosis and treatment. In the scheme for the year ending 31st March, 1922, a clause (No. 6)
was inserted, with the concurrence of the participating authorities and the Ministry of Health, to
enable the Council, within the general purposes of the scheme and the total approved expenditure
for the year, and without reference to the participating authorities unless a question of principle
is involved, to modify the arrangements as necessary, subject to the participating authorities
receiving all necessary information. The object cf this is to enable the Council to make such necessary
modifications without the delay, previously unavoidable, of obtaining the consent of all the participating
authorities. Arrangements have been made for free treatment and diagnosis for in-patients and outpatients
at 28 hospitals and for the reception of patients for treatment at nine hostels. Special provisior
has been made for the treatment of pregnant women and very young children. Practitioners secure
at the cost of the Council, scientific reports on materials from patients suspected to be suffering frorr
venereal disease, and approved practitioners may obtain the supply, free of cost, of salvarsan or its
substitutes. The cost of treatment and diagnosis at hopsitals is met by the local authorities affectec
in proportion to the number of attendances of new patients in the respective areas. The Council makes
direct payments to hospitals for salvarsan or its substitutes supplied to medical practitioners in London
Venereal
disease.

The Council's scheme provides in general terms for lectures and addresses to selected
audiences, and for the publication and dissemination of information. Since 20th March, 1917, a voluntary
association—the National Council for Combating Venereal Diseases—has been permitted for
limited periods to exercise on behalf of the Council certain of its powers relating to publicity and
propaganda work ; the purposes for which the permission was to be operative for the year ending
31st March, 1921, were determined by the Council on 30th March, 1920. The National Council intimated,
however, that its publicity work would be undertaken, after 31st March, 1921, partly by the National
Council and partly by its London branch, which would deal only with London, East Ham, West Ham
and Croydon. For the year 1921-22 the Council decided itself to undertake certain publicity work
which could most usefully be directed through official channels. The Council also arranged for certain
publicity work to be undertaken by the National Council, and for the London branch of the National
Council to undertake certain propaganda work.
Publicity
arrangements.
In the early part of 1921, the work of the venereal disease clinics at the various hospitals and
institutions with which the Council had arrangements was carefully reviewed, the clinics being inspected
by a representative of the Ministry of Health (Brevet-Colonel L. W. Harrison) and by Dr. F. N.
Kay Menzies, representing the Council. As a result proposals were formulated for meeting the increased
demand for treatment by extra sessions and other extensions of the facilities for treatment and by
increasing the efficiency of the clinics in other directions. These proposals were forwarded to the
Ministrv of Health for consideration.
Improvement
of the clinics,
Proposals by the National Council of Social Service for securing closer co-operation between the
authorities and voluntary agencies concerned with various aspects of the problem of women and girls
in moral danger have been carefully considered, and on 14th June, 1921, the Council agreed, as a first
step, to the formation of a joint committee for the London area. This Committee pointed out that
there was reason to hope that a permanent central committee would shortly be established, as the various
bodies represented on the provisional joint committee had assented to certain proposals outlined as
necessary in a complete scheme for an urban area. These proposals included (i) the provision of a
reception house or houses in which women and girls could be accommodated pending other provision
for them; (ii) adequate provision of homes and hostels providing, amongst other things, adequate
treatment and training facilities; (iii) similar treatment and training facilities for non-residential cases ;
(iv) adequate after-care in connection with various institutions (hospitals, infirmaries, prisons and
police-courts); (v) the establishment of a central bureau for the purpose of providing immediate information
to rescue agencies as to the available accommodation in the various rescue homes. It had been
considered for some time past very desirable that closer touch should be established with voluntary
agencies dealing with rescue and preventive work, as the organisation of such work was a necessary
Rescue and
preventive
work.