| Description | The Boarding Out and Infant Welfare committee was founded in 1912, following the amalgamation of the Aston, King's Norton and Birmingham Unions. It was also a response to the 1911 Boarding Out Order, issued by the Local Government Board. This Order sought to unite the two sides of the boarding out system, namely that which took place both within and outside the Union to which the children were chargeable. Previously, different Orders had dealt with these two aspects (see GP B/2/5/1 and GP B/2/5/3, above).
With the 1911 Order, the combined Birmingham Union created a new committee to deal with all areas of the boarding out process. The committee was to oversee the boarding out of children both within and outside Birmingham Union, and to deal with any applications made by unmarried women for admission into the workhouse/infirmary maternity wards (this latter duty being dealt with by a separate sub-committee from 1912 to 1914 - see GP B/2/5/4, above). The committee continued to carry out these duties until 1930, when the Guardians' Poor Law responsibilities were transferred to Birmingham City Council.
The volumes contain details of those Guardians present at each meeting, information on applications made to the committee for relief in the maternity wards, and notes on individual boarding out cases. Because of the sensitive nature of much of this material, it is currently subject to a 100-year closure period. Please see the duty archivist for further details. |