X1Part IV General and Supplementary
Registration etc. of homes for disabled persons and the aged and charities for disabled persons
37—40.F1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41F2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery of Expenses
F3F442 Liability to maintain wife or husband and children.
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F5F643 Recovery of cost of assistance from persons liable for maintenance.
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44F7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F845 Recovery in cases of misrepresentation or non-disclosure.
(1)
If, whether fraudulently or otherwise, any person misrepresents or fails to disclose any material fact, and in consequence of the misrepresentation or failure—
(b)
any sum recoverable under this Act by F9... a local authority is not recovered,
the F9... authority shall be entitled to recover the amount thereof from the said person.
F10(2)—(4)
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Miscellaneous
46F11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F12F847 Removal to suitable premises of persons in need of care and attention.
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F848 Duty of councils to provide temporary protection for property of persons admitted to hospitals etc.
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48 Duty of councils to provide temporary protection for property of persons admitted to hospitals etc.
(1)
Where a person—
(a)
is admitted as a patient to any hospital, or
(b)
is admitted to accommodation provided under Part III of this Act, ...
(c)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
and it appears to the council, in the case of any moveable property of that person that is for the time being situated in Wales, that there is danger of loss of, or damage to, the property by reason of his temporary or permanent inability to protect or deal with the property, and that no other suitable arrangements have been or are being made for the purposes of this subsection, it shall be the duty of the council to take reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate the loss or damage.
(2)
For the purpose of discharging the said duty, the council shall have power at all reasonable times to enter any premises which immediately before the person was admitted or removed as aforesaid were his place of residence or usual place of residence, and to deal with any movable property of his in any way which is reasonably necessary to prevent or mitigate loss thereof or damage thereto.
(3)
A council may recover from a person admitted or removed as aforesaid ... any reasonable expenses incurred by the council in relation to him under the foregoing provisions of this section.
(4)
In this section the expression “council” means in relation to any property the council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 within whose area the property is for the time being situated.
49 Expenses of council officers acting as Receivers.
Where an officer of F13the council of a county or county borough F13F14a county council in England, a district council for an area in England for which there is no county council, a London borough council or the Common Council of the City of London, with the permission of the council F15applies for appointment by the Court of Protection as a deputy, F16or applies for an intervention order or for appointment as a guardian under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (asp 4) the council may defray any expenses incurred by him in connection with the application or the exercise of F17his functions as deputy, F16or his functions under the intervention order or as guardian in so far as those expenses are not recoverable by him from any other source.
F1850 Burial or cremation of the dead.
(1)
It shall be the duty of every authority to which this subsection applies to cause to be buried or cremated the body of any person who has died or been found dead in their area, in any case where it appears to the authority that no suitable arrangements for the disposal of the body have been or are being made otherwise than by the authority.
(2)
F22(3)
F23Any such council as is referred to in section 48(4) of this Act may cause to be buried or cremated the body of any deceased person who immediately before his death was being provided with accommodation under Part III of this Act by, or by arrangement with, the council or was living in a hostel provided by the council under section twenty-nine of this Act.
(4)
F27(5)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6)
Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall affect any enactment regulating or authorising the burial, cremation or anatomical examination of the body of a deceased person; and an authority shall not cause a body to be cremated under this section where they have reason to believe that cremation would be contrary to the wishes of the deceased.
F28(7)
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F851 Failure to maintain.
(1)
(2)
For the purposes of this section, a person shall not be deemed to refuse or neglect to maintain himself F32... by reason only of anything done or omitted in furtherance of a trade dispute.
(3)
A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction F33to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months—
F36(b)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F852 False statements.
(1)
If any person—
(a)
for the purpose of obtaining, either for himself or for another person, any benefit under F37... Part III of this Act; or
(b)
for the purpose of avoiding or reducing any liability under this Act,
makes any statement or representation which he knows to be false, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F38level 3 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such imprisonment and such fine.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything in any enactment, proceedings for an offence under this section may be begun at any time within three months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of F37... the local authority concerned to justify a prosecution for the offence comes to the knowledge of the F37... local authority, or within twelve months from the commission of the offence, whichever period is the longer.
(3)
(4)
In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to evidence sufficient to justify a prosecution there shall be substituted references to evidence sufficient to justify a report to the Lord Advocate with a view to consideration of the question of prosecution.
Supplementary
53F39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F4054 Inquiries.
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F855 Provisions as to entry and inspection.
(1)
A person who proposes to exercise any power of entry or inspection conferred by this Act shall if so required produce some duly authenticated document showing his authority to exercise the power.
(2)
Any person who obstructs the exercise of any such power as aforesaid shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding F41level 4 on the standard scale.
F856 Legal proceedings.
(1)
(2)
Notwithstanding anything in any Act, proceedings for the recovery of any sum in the manner provided by the last foregoing subsection may be brought at any time within three years after the sum became due.
F44(3)
Offences under this Act, other than offences under section 47(11) of this Act, may be prosecuted by any council which is a local authority for the purposes of the M1Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 F45in Wales and offences under section 47(11) of this Act may be prosecuted by the councils referred to in section 47(12) of this Act.
F46(4)
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(5)
“(2)
Proceedings for the recovery of any such sum as aforesaid shall not be competent after the expiry of three years after the date when the sum became due.”
and with the omission of subsection (3) thereof.
57F47. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58F48. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F4959 Accounts of councils of county boroughs.
(1)
The council of every county borough shall keep accounts of the sums received and expended by them in the exercise of their functions under this Act, and those accounts shall be made up and audited in like manner as the accounts of a county council and shall be kept separately from their other accounts.
(2)
The enactments relating to the audit of accounts by a district auditor and to the matters incidental to such audit and consequential thereon shall have effect in relation to the accounts which the council of a county borough are required to keep under this section as they have effect in relation to the accounts of a county council.
F860 Compensation of displaced officers.
(1)
The Minister of Health, or as respects Scotland the Secretary of State, may by regulations provide for the payment by councils of counties, county boroughs and large burghs, subject to any prescribed exceptions or conditions, of compensation—
(a)
to persons of such description as may be prescribed who immediately before such date as may be prescribed in relation to the description of persons in question were employed or engaged in such full-time work as may be prescribed and who suffer loss of employment or loss or diminution of emoluments which is attributable to the passing of the M2National Insurance Acts, 1946, the M3National Health Service Act, 1946, the M4National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947, or this Act; and
(b)
to persons of such descriptions as may be prescribed who, having before such date as aforesaid been employed or engaged in such full-time work as may be prescribed and being persons who would have been so employed or engaged immediately before that date but for any national service (as defined in the regulations) in which they have been engaged, lose the prospect of their re-employment or re-engagement in any such work in consequence of the passing of any of the said Acts,
in so far as provision is not made in that behalf by or under any other enactment.
F50(2)
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(3)
Regulations under either of the two last foregoing subsections may provide for the determination of questions arising under the regulations.
F861 Expenses and receipts.
F51(1)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(2)
All receipts under this Act of the Minister of Health, the Secretary of State F52... shall be paid into the Exchequer.
F862 Transitional provisions, consequential adaptation of enactments.
(1)
The transitional provisions set out in the Sixth Schedule to this Act shall have effect for the purposes of this Act.
(2)
Any enactment passed before the passing of this Act which refers to or is dependent on any provision of the existing poor law or the M5Unemployment Assistance Act, 1934, shall have effect subject to such adaptation as may be provided by regulations of the Minister of Health, or as respects Scotland the Secretary of State, made not later than the expiration of five years from the coming into operation of this section, being adaptations appearing to him consequential on the cesser of the existing poor law or of the provisions of the said Act of 1934 and the replacement thereof by provisions of this Act or of any other Act of the present Session.
F53(3)
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(4)
Regulations made under subsection (2) of this section shall be of no effect unless approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
F863 Regulations, rules and orders.
F54(1)
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(2)
Any power conferred by this Act on a Minister of the Crown or the Treasury to make F55... regulations or rules, and the powers conferred by the following provisions of this Act on the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State to make orders, shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
(3)
(4)
Any power conferred by this Act to make an order shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be construed as including a power, exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions, to vary or revoke the order.
F864 Interpretation.
(1)
In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say:—
“blind person” means a person so blind as to be unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential;
“child” means a person under the age of sixteen;
“dependant” has the meaning assigned to it by section seven of this Act;
“disability” includes mental as well as physical disability;
“disabled persons’ or old persons’ home” has the meaning assigned to it by section thirty-seven of this Act;
“existing poor law” means the enactments specified in Part I of the Seventh Schedule to this Act or, as respects Scotland, such of those enactments as apply to Scotland together with the enactments specified in Part II of that Schedule;
“functions” includes powers and duties;
F58. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“local authority”, save as provided in Part III of this Act, F59means the council of a county or county borough in Wales;
F60. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this Act;
“requirements” does not include any medical, surgical, optical, aural or dental requirements;
F61“trade dispute” has the same meaning as in section 27 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992
“voluntary organisation” means a body the activities of which are carried on otherwise than for profit, but does not include any public or local authority.
(2)
References in this Act to any enactment shall, except where the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that enactment as amended by or under any enactment, including this Act.
(3)
For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed, according to the law in England and Wales as well as according to the law in Scotland, not to have attained the age of sixteen years until the commencement of the sixteenth anniversary of the day of his birth.
F865 General provisions as to application to Scotland.
Subject to any express provision contained in this Act, the following provisions shall have effect for the general application thereof to Scotland:—
F62(a)
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F62(b)
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F63(c)
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(d)
for any reference to a complaint there shall be substituted a reference to an application, and the expression “defendant” means respondent in any such application;
(e)
F66(f)
any reference however expressed F67in sections 22(2) to (8) and 26(2) to (4) of this Act to accommodation provided under Part III F68of this Act shall be construed as a reference to accommodation provided under F69... the M7Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 F70or F71section 25 (care and support services etc.) of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003,.
F7266. Application to Isles of Scilly.
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F867 Provisions as to Northern Ireland.
F73(1)
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(2)
Save as expressly provided therein, the provisions of this Act F74... shall not extend to Northern Ireland.
68 Short title and commencement.
(1)
This Act may be cited as the National Assistance Act, 1948.
(2)
This Act shall come into operation on such day as the Minister of Health, or as respects Scotland the Secretary of State, may by order appoint, and different days may be appointed in relation to different provisions of this Act.