National Assistance Act 1948

1. Introductory Text

2. PART I Introductory.

   1. 1. Supersession of existing poor law.

3. PART II National Assistance.

   1. The National Assistance Board.

      1. 2. The National Assistance Board.

      2. 3. Advisory committees.

   2. Giving of Assistance by Board.

      1. 4. Duty of Board to assist persons in need.

      2. 5. Determination of need for assistance.

      3. 6. Preparation, making and coming into operation of regulations under section five.

      4. 7. Aggregation of requirements and resources.

      5. 8. Assistance grants.

      6. 9. Disqualifications for assistance grants.

      7. 10. Assistance in special cases.

      8. 11. Disqualification etc. not to prevent assistance in cases of urgency.

      9. 12. Assistance in kind.

      10. 13. Prevention of duplication of payments.

      11. 14. Appeals under Part II.

      12. 15. Supplementary provisions as to assistance.

   3. Re-establishment Centres and Reception Centres.

      1. 16. Re-establishment centres.

      2. 17. Reception centres.

      3. 18. Accommodation in reception centres in special cases.

      4. 19. Management of re-establishment and reception centres.

      5. 20. Contributions to centres maintained by voluntary organisations.

4. PART III Local Authority Services.

   1. Provision of Accommodation.

      1. 21. Duty of local authorities to provide accommodation.

      2. 22. Charges to be made for accommodation.

      3. 23. Management of premises in which accommodation provided.

      4. 24. Authority liable for provision of accommodation.

      5. 25. Power of Board to require provision of accommodation in urgent cases.

      6. 26. Provision of accommodation in premises maintained by voluntary organisations.

      7. 27. Investigation of resources etc. by Board.

      8. 28. Exchequer contributions to local authorities.

   2. Welfare Services.

      1. 29. Welfare arrangements for blind, deaf, dumb and crippled persons, etc.

      2. 30. Voluntary organisations for disabled persons' welfare.

      3. 31. Contributions to old people's organisations.

   3. Financial adjustments between Local Authorities.

      1. 32. Adjustments between authority providing accommodation, etc., and authority of area of residence.

   4. Local and Central Authorities.

      1. 33. Local Authorities for purposes of Part III.

      2. 34. Provisions as to local authority schemes.

      3. 35. Central Authority for purposes of Part III.

      4. 36. Default powers of Minister.

5. PART IV General and Supplementary.

   1. Registration etc. of homes for disabled persons and the aged and charities for disabled persons.

      1. 37. Registration of disabled persons' and old persons' homes.

      2. 38. Procedure and right of appeal where registration refused or cancelled.

      3. 39. Inspection of disabled persons' and old persons' homes.

      4. 40. Supplementary provisions as to regulation of disabled persons' or old persons' homes.

      5. 41. Registration of charities for disabled persons.

   2. Recovery of Expenses.

      1. 42. Liability to maintain wife or husband, and children.

      2. 43. Recovery of cost of assistance from persons liable for maintenance.

      3. 44. Affiliation orders.

      4. 45. Recovery in cases of misrepresentation or non-disclosure.

   3. Miscellaneous.

      1. 46. Amendments of Old Age Pensions Act, 1936.

      2. 47. Removal to suitable premises of persons in need of care and attention.

      3. 48. Duty of councils to provide temporary protection for property of persons admitted to hospitals, etc.

      4. 49. Expenses of council officers acting as Receivers.

      5. 50. Burial or cremation of the dead.

      6. 51. Failure to maintain.

      7. 52. False statements.

   4. Supplementary.

      1. 53. The Appeal Tribunal.

      2. 54. Inquiries.

      3. 55. Provisions as to entry and inspection.

      4. 56. Legal proceedings.

      5. 57. Ascertainment of war savings.

      6. 58. Acquisition of land.

      7. 59. Accounts of councils of county boroughs.

      8. 60. Compensation of displaced officers.

      9. 61. Expenses and receipts.

      10. 62. Transitional provisions, consequential adaptation of enactments and repeals.

      11. 63. Regulations, rules and orders.

      12. 64. Interpretation.

      13. 65. General provisions as to application to Scotland.

      14. 66. Application to Isles of Scilly.

      15. 67. Provisions as to Northern Ireland.

      16. 68. Short title and commencement.

6. SCHEDULES.

   1. FIRST SCHEDULE

      Constitution and Proceedings of National Assistance Board.

      1. 1. (1) The Board shall be a body corporate by the...

      2. 2. Every member of the Board shall held and vacate office...

      3. 3. No member of the Board shall be capable of being...

      4. 4. Any person who has ceased to be a member of...

      5. 5. The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy in the number...

      6. 6. There shall be paid to the several members of the...

      7. 7. The procedure and quorum of the Board shall be such...

      8. 8. The Board shall appoint a secretary and may appoint such...

      9. 9. The functions of the Board, and of the officers and...

      10. 10. The Board shall have power to acquire land for the...

      11. 11. Every document purporting to be an instrument issued by the...

   2. SECOND SCHEDULE

      Resources to be Disregarded.

      1. 1. In taking into account the value to any person of...

      2. 2. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, any capital...

      3. 3. Any capital resources not disregarded by virtue of either of...

      4. 4. There shall be wholly disregarded— (a) any death grant paid...

      5. 5. (1) Any such payment or part of a payment as...

      6. 6. Where under section seven of this Act the resources of...

      7. 7. (1) For the purposes of this Schedule the amount of...

      8. 8. (1) In this Schedule— (a) the expression " by inheritance...

      9. 9. Anything to be prescribed for the purposes of this Schedule...

   3. THIRD SCHEDULE

      Administrative Provisions as to Local Authorities.

      1. PART I

         1. Committees.

            1. 1. (1) For the purposes of their functions under Part III...

            2. 2. A local authority may authorise a committee established in pursuance...

            3. 3. (1) The committee shall be so constituted as to include...

            4. 4. The minutes of proceedings of the committee shall be open...

            5. 5. (1) The committee may, subject to any restrictions imposed by...

            6. 6. Every person appointed to be a -member of the committee...

            7. 7. (1) If it appears to the Minister, on the representation...

            8. 8. The foregoing provisions of this Schedule shall not prevent a...

      2. PART II

         1. Joint Boards.

            1. 9. (1) Where it appears to the Minister to be expedient...

            2. 10. A joint board constituted for the purposes of Part III...

            3. 11. An order constituting such a joint board—

      3. PART III

         1. Application to Scotland.

            1. 12. The foregoing provisions of this Schedule shall in their application...

            2. 13. A combination of local authorities in Scotland for the purposes...

   4. FOURTH SCHEDULE

      Amendments of 26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8. c. 31.

      1. 1. (1) For references to the Treasury, the local pension committee,...

      2. 2. (1) In section three, in subsection (1), paragraphs (a) and...

      3. 3. Notwithstanding anything in section six, where a woman who is...

      4. 4. In section nine, subsections (3) and (4) (which provide for...

      5. 5. Regulations under section twelve shall be made by the Board...

      6. 6. In section twelve paragraph (d) of subsection (1) (which relates...

      7. 7. Subsection (4) of section twelve (which provides for defraying expenses...

   5. FIFTH SCHEDULE

      Constitution and Proceedings of Appeal Tribunals.

      1. 1. Each of the Tribunals referred to in section fifty-three of...

      2. 2. Each Tribunal shall have jurisdiction in respect of such district...

      3. 3. (1) The chairman and one of the other members of...

      4. 4. The Board shall pay to the chairman or acting chairman...

      5. 5. The Board shall assign to each Tribunal a clerk and...

      6. 6. (1) The Board may make rules— (a) as to the...

      7. 7. In this Schedule " the Minister " means the Minister...

   6. SIXTH SCHEDULE

      Transitional Provisions.

      1. 1. The first report of the Board under subsection (4) of...

      2. 2. (1) Advisory committees under subsection (3) of section thirty-five of...

      3. 3. (1) Where immediately before the appointed day a person was...

      4. 4. (1) Where immediately before the appointed day any premises vested...

      5. 5. (1) Notwithstanding anything in Part III of this Act, a...

      6. 6. (1) Any land which immediately before the appointed day was...

      7. 7. (1) Where immediately before the appointed day any premises being...

      8. 8. (1) Where any premises being part of a workhouse were...

      9. 9. (1) In this and the two last foregoing paragraphs the...

      10. 10. (1) Where immediately before the appointed day a person was...

      11. 11. Where immediately before the appointed day a person was being...

      12. 12. Any property, right or liability which immediately before the appointed...

      13. 13. Section one hundred and fifty-one of the Local Government Act,...

      14. 14. Where immediately before the appointed day the fact that a...

      15. 15. Where any right of a local authority to recover any...

      16. 16. Where on the appointed day a local authority in Scotland...

      17. 17. (1) Where under section three of the Blind Persons Act,...

      18. 18. Any appeal against a decision of a local pension committee...

      19. 19. (1) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2) of section thirty-eight of...

      20. 20. (1) For the purposes of any provision of this Schedule...

      21. 21. The following provisions shall have effect for the purpose of...

   7. SEVENTH SCHEDULE

      Enactments Repealed.

      1. PART I

         1. The existing poor law.

      2. PART II

         1. The existing poor law in Scotland.

      3. PART III

         1. Other enactments repealed.