Public Health Act 1936

Welfare authorities.

200 Welfare authorities.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of the following authorities to carry this Part of this Act into execution, that is to say—

(i) in a county borough, the council of the borough ;

(ii) in a county district, the council, whether of the county or of the district, who immediately before the commencement of this Act were in that district the local authority for the purposes of the Notification of Births Acts, 1907 and 1915.

Any such council are, in relation to their duties under this Part of this Act, hereinafter referred to as a " welfare authority, " and the county borough, county, or part of a county, for which they act is referred to as their " area ".

(2) Where in any county district the welfare authority are not the local education authority for elementary education, and the Minister, on a representation made to him by the council who are in the district the local education authority for elementary education, is satisfied that the transfer of functions under this Part of this Act to the last mentioned council would conduce to the more efficient administration in the district of the functions relating to public health and education, the Minister may by order declare that that council shall be the welfare authority in the district in lieu of the council theretofore acting as such.

(3) The Minister may at any time by order revoke an order previously made by him under this section, and thereupon the council of the county, or the council of the county district, as the case may be, shall again become the welfare authority.

(4) An order of the Minister under this section may contain such provisions with respect to the transfer of property and liabilities as he thinks fit.

(5) References in any other Act to a council who have established a maternity and child welfare committee shall be construed as references to a council who are a welfare authority under this Act.

201 Maternity and child welfare committee of welfare authority.

(1) Every welfare authority shall appoint a maternity and child welfare committee, which may, if the authority think fit, be a committee of the authority appointed for other purposes, or a sub-committee of such a committee.

(2) All matters relating to the discharge of the functions of the authority under this Part of this Act except the power of levying, or issuing a precept for, a rate, or of borrowing money, shall stand referred to the maternity and child welfare committee, and the authority, before exercising any such powers, shall, unless in their opinion the matter in question is urgent, receive and consider the report of the committee with respect to that matter.

(3) The authority may also delegate to the maternity and child welfare committee, with or without restrictions or conditions, any of their functions under this Part of this Act, but the committee shall not have any power of levying, or issuing a precept for, a rate, or of borrowing money.

(4) The authority may appoint as members of the maternity and child welfare committee persons who are not members of the authority, but are specially qualified by training or experience in subjects relating to health and maternity, so, however, that two-thirds at least of the members of the committee shall be members of the authority:

Provided that, where the duties of a maternity and child welfare committee are discharged by a committee appointed for other purposes or by a sub-committee of such a committee, any members appointed under this subsection who are not members of the authority shall act only in connection with matters relating to the functions of the authority under this Part of this Act.

(5) Two members, at least, of the maternity and child welfare committee shall be women.

202 Expenses of county council as welfare authority.

Where a county council are not the welfare authority for all county districts within their county, the expenses incurred by them under this Part of this Act shall be defrayed as expenses for special county purposes chargeable upon those county districts for which they are the welfare authority.