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62
SECTION V.
LEGISLATION OF 1919.
Acts, Circulars, Orders, Regulations, etc.
1.—Ministry of Health Act, 1919.
The Ministry of Health is not a new one, but merely a re-organisation of
the old Local Government Board, which has transferred, or will transfer,
some of its former powers to other departments of the Government, and in
return has (or will) take over some powers from these departments, which can
be better exercised by the Ministry.
Circular No. 1, dated 30th June, 1919, informed the Local Authorities
of England that:—(1) under the provisions of Sec. II (1) of the Ministry of
Health Act, 1919, an Order in Council had been made fixing July 1st, 1919,
as the day upon which the Act came into operation; (2) on that day all the
powers and duties of the Local Government Board would pass to the Ministry
of Health.
Organisation.—It is well for us all to clearly understand the outlines
of the basis on which this Ministry was organised. In March the following
announcement was made:—"In view of the impending retirement of Sir
Horace Munro, K.C.B., Permanent Secretary to the Local Government
Board, and in order to facilitate the unification of the departments which
will be brought together in the Ministry of Health on the passage of the bill
now before Parliament, the President of the Local Government Board has
appointed Sir Robert Morant, K.C.B., Chairman of the National Health
Insurance Commission, and Mr. John Anderson, C.B., Secretary to that
Commission and at present acting as Secretary to the Ministry of Shipping, to
be additional secretaries to the Local Government Board, with special
functions and responsibilities in relation to the organisation of the new
department, continuing their insurance functions. Sir Robert Morant and
Mr. Anderson have been designated as First and Second Secretary respectively
in the new Ministry." Sir George Newman was appointed to be the
Principal Medical Officer of the Local Government Board early in 1919,
whilst he still remains in his old position of Chief Medical Officer of the
Board of Education, when it was announced that he would have the status of
a Secretary of the Board, and would have administrative responsibilities in
respect of the work of his department. The new Ministry absorbs the
functions of the Local Government Board in health matters, and it retains
the Poor Law administration, until this can be dealt with differently; it
takes over the insurance services which previously formed a large and sometimes
overlapping department. It has also become responsible for the
medical inspection and treatment of young children, while delegating its
authority in this regard to the Education Board, which has hitherto had