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charge of a foster-mother who is unfit to have the care of it owing to negligence,
ignorance, inebriety, immorality, criminal conduct or other similar cause.

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. The Council on 16th December, 1924, decided
that evidence in support of these proposals should be given on its behalf before the
Departmental Committee on Child Adoption.
Lying-in
homes.
The Council's powers and duties with regard to the registration and inspection
of lying-in homes are described in the Annual Report for 1922 (vol. III., p. 104).
At the end of 1923, 277 premises were on the register, 32 were added during the
year, one registration was cancelled and 33 entries were removed (owing to discontinuance
of user, removal, etc.), leaving a net total of 275 on the register at
the end of 1924. Twelve premises carried on by registered medical practitioners
were exempted during the year.
Midwives.
Under the Midwives Act, 1902, the duties of the Council, as the local supervising
authority for London, were chiefly disciplinary in connection with the conduct,
professional or otherwise, of midwives or persons practising as midwives in London.
To enable it to carry out these and a lied duties the Council appointed four qualified
women medical practitioners to inspect midwives and to investigate special cases.
The Midwives Act, 1918, passed to amend the Act of 1902, enlarged the Council's
responsibilities, the chief alteration dealing with the provision of medical assistance
for midwives. By section 14 midwives are required to summon medical aid n
an emergency as defined by the rules of the Central Midwives Board. The fees
of the medical man so called in are payable by the Council (in accordance with a
scale fixed by the Local Government Board and amended by the Ministry of Health)
which has power to recover them from the patient, her husband, or other person,
liable to maintain her, unless it can be shown that such person is unable to pay,
the fees. Owing to the difficulty of assessing the sums to be recovered, the Council
in 1921, adopted a scale of assessments graduated according to net income, after
allowing a deduction in respect of each maintainable child or other dependant.
From 1st April 1924, to 31st March, 1925, the Council's expenditure under this head
was about £4,161, of which about £1,131 was recovered. Further details of the
Council's work are given above (see p. 56).
Under section 5 of the Act of 1902, as amended by section 2 of the Act of 1918,
any adverse balance in the accounts of the Central Midwives Board is apportioned
between the councils of the several counties and county boroughs in proportion to
population at the last census, and the Council's proportion for the year 1924 was
£496.
Notifications by midwives of intention to practise during the year numbered
850 ; of intent on to practise for specific periods less than a year, 32 ; and of having
acted in specific cases, 24. Proecedings were taken against a certified midwife
* Partial.
† See Annual Report for 1920 (vol. III., p. 113).