Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897

15 Local authority to appoint medical and other officers.

The local authority shall appoint a medical officer or medical officers, who shall be called medical officer or medical officers of health, and a sanitary inspector or inspectors, the latter of whom shall be also inspector or inspectors of common lodging-houses, and the' local authority shall, subject to the approval of the Board, regulate the duties of such medical officers and sanitary inspectors and their relations to each other, whether appointed before or subsequent to the commencement of this Act, and this, notwithstanding anything contained in sections seventy-five, seventy-six, and seventy-seven of the [55 & 56 Vict. c. 55.] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892; and the local authority may, and if required by the Board shall, appoint convenient places for their offices, and shall allow to every such medical officer and sanitary inspector and every other officer or clerk appointed by them on account of his employment a proper salary or remuneration; and the names and addresses and salaries of the said medical officers and sanitary inspectors shall be reported by the local authority to the Board immediately on such persons being appointed and such salaries fixed; and the said medical officers and sanitary inspectors, and the local authority and their clerk, and the registrars of births, deaths, and marriages shall be bound to make such returns and special reports to the Board in such form and at such times as the Board shall require. The medical officer may, when authorised by the local authority, exercise any of the powers with which the sanitary inspector is invested by this Act.

No person shall be appointed as the medical officer of any burgh, or of any district, other than a burgh, unless he possesses the qualifications set forth in section fifty-four of the [52 & 53 Vict. c. 50.] Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889.

No medical officer or sanitary inspector appointed by the local authority under this or any of the repealed Acts shall be removable from office, except by or with the sanction of the Board.

The registrar of births, deaths, and marriages in each registration district shall furnish to the local authority such periodical returns of births and deaths as may be required of him and approved by the Board, and for each death included in such return and for each return of births he shall be paid by the local authority the sum of twopence, and, the local authority shall provide the forms on which such returns are to be made, and shall pay for their transmission by letter post.

The medical officer and sanitary inspector shall, if required by the local- authority, respectively name a duly qualified substitute for whom they shall be responsible, and if the local authority shall approve of the nomination, such substitute shall have the same powers and duties as the medical officer or sanitary inspector, as the case may be, during the temporary illness or authorised absence of either of them, and the local authority may from time to time with consent of the Board withdraw their approval of such substitute, and may require the medical officer or sanitary inspector, as the case may be to name for their-approval some other duly qualified substitute.

Nothing contained in this Act shall, save in so far as expressly otherwise provided, prejudice or affect the existing officers and servants of the local authorities under any Act in force at the passing of this Act, and such officers and servants shall without any further appointment be the officers and servants of the local authorities under this Act, with, save as aforesaid, the same tenure of office (if any), and emoluments as heretofore.