ABSTRACT
The present Public Assistance system originated in the Elizabethan Poor Law was dates back to 1601. The Minister of Health is charged with the central direction and control of all matters relating to the administration of poor relief, but has no power to interfere in any individual case for the purpose of ordering or varying the amount of relief. The local administrative machinery differs between County Boroughs and County Councils, and also varies considerably between individual authorities. The chief official for the local administration of the Poor Law is the Public Assistance Officer, who in some instances is also the Clerk of the Council. In addition to providing assistance in cash, or by admission to an institution, public assistance authorities also are required to afford medical relief where necessary in the form of the services of a medical practitioner and the supply of the requisite drugs and appliances.
