South Yorkshire Times and Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 19 July 1929

Thurnscoe U.D.C.

The County Maternity Home Scheme

Some Queries.

A lengthy meeting of the Thurnscoe Urban Council was held on Tuesday, when the Chairman (Coun. A. Bramham) gave a statement with regard to grants from the Lord Mayor’s Fund to relieve distress in the coalfields.

The County Maternity Home Scheme

Coun. Turner: The County Council hope the Home will be a success and a forerunner of similar Homes.

Coun. H. Schofield: If a person can say, “I am going to have a bed because I can pay, what about those who cannot pay?”

Coun. Parker: That will show the necessity for more beds.

Coun. H. Garwood: Are we allocated a bed?

The Chairmen said it did not matter where eases came from. First come first served.

Coun. Turner the question was whether there would be more applications than ‘could be dealt with. If so the County Council would take over another ward.

Coun. Parker: The committee will work in the right spirit, and if there is a necessity for more beds there will be more provided. He hoped that the women would take advantage of the Home.

Wages During Sickness.

Coun. Starkey moved that the Council adopt the principle of paying wages to employees for three days in cases of injury, where compensation is not available, he stated that a workman was not entitled to compensation until three days after an accident.

Coun Parker seconded.

The Chairman said he had attended a meeting of the Area Distress Committee. They had £75 in vouchers for ordinary assistance, and £50 to relieve special cases.

Coun. W. If. Starchy asked if there was some money left over from the last allocation for cases of sickness.

The Chairman replied that not a penny was left over.

Coun. Starkey said the District Committee was asking local committees to formulate schemes, so that they could ask for more.

The Chairman said that in the Wombwell area they were asking for £15,000. Coun. Starkey expressed the view that the Central Committee had not dealt fairly with the West Riding.

Mexboro Maternity Home.

Referring to an item in the report of the Finance Committee appointing Councillors Parker and Turner and the Chairman to attend a conference at Mexboro’ relative to the County Maternity Home, the Chairman said it was very interesting.

Coun. J. Parker: I am very glad I attended.

Coun. Starkey asked for information regarding admission.

Coun. Turner said the scheme was that women going into the Home should pay three guineas per week, or less according to the family income. Below 30s per week they would not pay.

Coun. Starkey suggested that those who could afford to pay three guineas per week would exclude from the Home those who consider the nature of the accident, and if a man was off work for three days there should be a medical certificate. Who was to decide if  man should work or not?

Coun. E. F. Heal pointed out that according to the motion if a man had a motor accident, outside his work, he would get his three days’ pay. Cases should not be judged on hard and fast rules. The matter had arisen through a man being anxious to return to work, thus losing his compensation.

Coun. Starkey said a doctor would decide if a man could work.

Coun. Schofield moved that each case be judged on its own merits

Coun. Heal seconded, saying the Council would otherwise be on dangerous grounds.

Coun. Starkey urged there should be a general principle. The amendment was lost, and the motion, with an addition limiting the operation of the principle to cases where loss of work was due to employment by the Council, was carried with two dissentients.

Hospital Notice Board.

The Chairman suggested that a notice board should be put up outside the Baths to enable relatives of patients in the Isolation Hospital to know how they were progressing He had the idea from Bolton-on-Dearne. One of the officials would telephone for information every day. It was decided to make this arrangement.

Private Enterprise.

On a minute of the Highways Committee, “That the Council do not undertake any work which should properly be carried out by private enterprise.” Coun. Heal said only six members voted—two for and four against.

The Chairman said he did not mind the public knowing that he did not vote.

Coun. Parker had the resolution been ‘carried in committee he would have brought the subject up in Council.

A Committee Of One.

The Housing Committee reported that a Housing Sub-Committee meeting would be held on July 15. and that the Chairman and Collector would select tenants for interview at such meeting.

Arising out of this, Coun. Schofield said he was the only member who attended. He did his best, although he did not hays the support of the Housing Committee.

The Chairman said he could not attend, and that was the case of another member.

Coun. Parker added that he had said he could not attend.

Refresher Course.

The Sanitary Committee reported the giving of permission to the Sanitary Inspector to attend a meat “refresher course” at Sheffield.

Coun. Heal asked how long it would last, and the Chairman replied, “Three months.”

Coun. Heal moved the reference beck.

Coun. Starkey: I was not aware of this, and we understood in committee there would be no charge to the Council, and it was simply a question of granting four hours a week for the purpose of getting information which would be valuable, and we thought it advisable that Mr. Brook be allowed to attend.

Coon. Heal did not press his amendment.

Items.

A tender of Messrs. H. Gough, of Goldthorpe, for £418 for the sanitary conversions for 51 houses in Lidgett Lane, King Street, and Queen Street, was accepted.

A special meeting of the Council was held to fix the seal of the Council to the rate of 8/4 in the £ for the half-year, 1st April to 30th Sept. 1919, and the water charges for the half-year ending 30th Sept.

The Rating sad Valuation Committee extended the time for paying rates to August 31 for this year for the purpose of the 10 or 15 per cent. allowance.

The Housing Committee accepted the tender of Bayliss. Jones and Bayliss for the supply of rails and gates.

The Medical Officer of Health reported a birth-rate of 18.3, and death rate of 9.1 for June.