Naval and Military War Pensions, &c., Act 1915

2 Establishment of local committees.

(1) For the purpose of assisting the Statutory Committee in the execution of their duties, a local committee shall he established for every county and county borough, and for every borough or urban district having a population of not less than fifty thousand the council of which so desires, and for any other borough or urban district for which the Statutory Committee, on the application of the council thereof, considers it desirable that, having regard to the special circumstances of the case, a separate local committee should be established.

(2) The constitution of a local committee shall be such as may be determined by a scheme framed by the council of the county or borough or urban district and approved by the Statutory Committee ; so, however, that every such scheme shall provide—

(a) for the appointment by the council of the county or borough or urban district of at least a majority of the local committee ; but the members so appointed by the council need not be members of the council ; and

(b) for the appointment by the local committee from amongst their own number of a chairman ; and

(c) for the inclusion of women and representatives of labour among the members of the local committee.

(3) If within such time, not being less than one month, as may be allowed by the Statutory Committee, the council does not frame a scheme or such a scheme as the Statutory Committee approve, the Statutory Committee may themselves frame a scheme which shall have a like effect as if it were framed by the council and approved by the Statutory Committee.

(4) The scheme, in the case of a county, may provide for the division of the county into districts and the appointment of a sub-committee for each such district, which sub-committees are herein-after referred to as district committees, so, however, that every borough and urban district within the county having a population of not less than twenty thousand, and in the case of the county of London, the city of London and each metropolitan borough, shall be a separate district, and that the council thereof shall have the right of appointing at least a majority of the members of the district committee, and in the appointment of every such district committee some of the members appointed shall be women.

Such a district committee may, but need not, contain any members of the local committee.

(5) A scheme regulating the constitution of any such local committee or district committee as aforesaid shall provide for the substantial representation on the local or district committee of persons who have within the area either as members of the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association, or the Soldiers and Sailors Help Society, or otherwise, been performing functions similar to those to be performed by local committees under this Act.

(6) For facilitating the preparation of such schemes as aforesaid the Statutory Committee shall as soon as practicable prepare and issue forms of model schemes.

(7) A local committee or district committee may also appoint sub-committees, either for any special purposes or for any special parts of their area, and any such committee may consist either wholly or partly of members of the local or district committee, and in particular may appoint a special committee which shall include representatives of employers and of labour for the care of disabled officers and men.

(8) Any two or more local committees may combine together for the joint exercise of any of their powers and duties under this Act, and may for that purpose appoint a joint committee, and may agree as to the proportions in which the several local committees represented on the joint committee are to contribute towards the expenses of such joint committee.

(9) A local committee may delegate to any district committee, and a local committee or district committee may delegate to any sub-committee, whether appointed for any particular locality or not, any of its powers and duties under this Act, whether with or without any restrictions or conditions as it may think fit.

(10) Any expenses of a local committee (except so far as they may be paid by the Statutory Committee) shall be paid out of funds at the disposal of the local committee.

(11) In the application of this section to Scotland " county borough" means a royal, parliamentary, or police burgh with a population of not less than fifty thousand, and " borough " or "urban district " means a royal, parliamentary, or police burgh.