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8
" It will be remembered that at their last meeting, the Committee
agreed to this subject, Delegation of County Health Services, being
discussed at their next meeting.
As consideration is limited to any changes which can be brought
about within the framework of existing legislation, matters such as the
administration of the Food and Drugs provisions of the Public Health
Act are ruled out, and the issue narrows down to the administration of
the Part III Services of the National Health Service Act.
The position as seen by the Public Health Committee of the Council
is rather different from that of the local Area Committee, as there is for
them a wider range of possibilities. Any one of a number of steps can
be taken:
1. The Council could of course elect to have nothing to do with
the administration of the Part III Services of the County Council. This
line has been taken by a few of those authorities which had themselves
up to 1948 maintained maternity and child welfare services. This
decision prevented that closeness of association between those responsible
for the environmental services and those providing the Part 111 Services
which is so desirable.
2. The Act does allow for the Council being virtually responsible
for the administration of certain of the Part III Services. Under Section
22(4), regulations could have been made giving to those authorities
covered by schemes of divisional administration in regard to the education
services, similar powers in regard to some of the Part III Services.
In point of fact, no regulations were made. If any were made and the
powers in this section applied to this district, the range of service which
could have been passed over would be very small, and it is far better
that other closely related Part III Services which could not have been
handed over under these arrangements, should be provided by the same
body as the one providing these more restricted ones. There is then,
little point in anything being done to try to have regulations framed with
a view to the Council's acquiring these limited powers.
3. The County Council has taken advantage of the provisions contained
in the Fourth Schedule of the National Health Service Act. Paragraph
6 of Part II of this reads: "The Health Committee of a local
health authority may, subject to any restrictions imposed by the local
health authority, establish such sub-committees as the Health Committee
may determine, and any sub-committee established under this paragraph
shall be constituted in such manner as may, subject to any restrictions
imposed by the local health authority, be determined by the health
committee, and at least a majority of every sub-committee shall be
members of the local health authority or of a local authority for any
area forming part of the area of the local health authority." The County
Council used these powers to set up in each of the 10 areas into which
the County was divided an Area Committee, each being a sub-committee
of the health committee.