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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. For the year 1922-23
the Council decided itself to undertake certain publicity work which could most
usefully be directed through official channels. The Council also arranged for certain
propaganda work to be undertaken by the National Council.
Publicity
arrangements.
The Annual Report for 1921 (vol. III., p. 63) referred to proposals of the
National Council of Social Service in regard to rescue and preventive work. The
Council, on 14th June, 1921, expressed itself in favour of the suggestion that a central
joint committee should be formed representing public authorities and voluntary
agencies concerned in rescue and preventive work in London. A conference of
representatives of bodies interested was summoned by the Minister of Health in
February, 1922, and it was decided to form a central council for the co-ordination
of rescue and preventive work among women and girls in London. The Council has
four representatives on the Central Council.
Rescue and
preventive
work.
Part I. of the Children Act, 1908, provides that a person who undertakes for
hire or reward the nursing and maintenance of an infant under the age of seven years
apart from its parents shall, within 48 hours, give notice of such reception to the local
authority (in London the Council), and empowers such local authority to fix the
number of infants which may be kept in any dwelling. If an infant dies the
foster-mother must notify the coroner within 24 hours, and the Council within
48 hours. During 1922,2,411 foster-mothers and 2,921 nurse-infants were notified.*
Power is given to remove to a place of safety, an infant in the charge of a fostermother
who is unfit to have the care of it owing to negligence, ignorance,
inebriety, immorality, criminal conduct or other similar cause.
Infant life
protection.
Similar action may be taken where the premises are overcrowded, dangerous or
insanitary, or if the infant is being kept by a person or in any premises in contravention
of the Act. The Act also empowers a local authority to exempt either
partially or wholly premises which are so conducted as to render ordinary inspection
unnecessary. Some particulars of the Council's work are as follows :—
Year.
Infants
removed from
foster mothers.
Exemptions.
Deaths.
Infringements
discovered.
Cautions.
Prosecutions.
Convictions.
1920 14 7 26 318 302 16 16
1921 20 3 42 302 285 26 26
1922 14 3 52 279 266 13 13
On 1st March, 1921, the Council authorised officers of the Greenwich Metropolitan
Borough Council to act as infant life protection visitors under the Act for a
period of one year extending to 30th June, 1922, and on 25th July, 1922, on the
application of the borough council, continued this arrangement until 30th June,
1923. The authority is subject to agreed terms and conditions and to review at
the end of the period.
The Council on 18th May, 1920, expressed the opinion that Part I. of the
Children Act, 1908, required amendment, and with that object made several
proposals to the Minister of Health, but no definite action has yet been taken by
him thereon.
Towards the end or 1919, the London War Tensions Committee asked the
Council to arrange for the inspection of homes in which the Committee proposed to
place neglected children of deceased or serving soldiers and sailors, and the Council
Inspection of
homes.
* Figures for 1915-20 are given in the Annual Report for 1920 (vol. III., p. 112).
† See Annual Report for 1920 (vol. III., p. 113).