Records relating to the responsibilities of Bath City Council/Bath and North East...

The records in this sub-fonds relate to the Council's responsibilities for welfare, and social and mental health services of various types.

Until 1930, 'Boards of Guardians', elected by ratepayers, were responsible for administering a wide range of 'poor relief'. People who were unable to support themselves through illness, disability, old age or unemployment could receive help, either in the workhouse or through 'outdoor relief' (payments in cash or in kind while they stayed in their own homes). The Guardians also had responsibility for children who were orphaned, or whose parents were unable to care for them. In 1930, all these responsibilities passed to local authorities; although renamed 'public assistance' rather than 'poor relief', the ways in which assistance was given remained the same, and the organisation and personnel generally continued unchanged. In Bath, the responsibilities of the Bath Board of Guardians for those within the city seeking assistance passed to Bath City Council.

Many of these 'public assistance' responsibilities were brought to an end by the various pieces of legislation which established the Welfare State in the period 1945-1948. Responsibility for medical care, unemployment, and benefits for many people in need passed to central government. Some responsibilities, however, remained with local authorities, often re-framed to take account of a totally different approach to the provision of welfare. In particular, local authorities remained responsible for the care and welfare of children 'deprived of a normal home life', of the elderly who needed residential care or support in their own homes rather than medical treatment, and of some disabled people.

Also included in this sub-fonds are records relating to asylums and the mentally ill. Bath City Council became responsible for the care of the mentally ill under an Act of 1845, which made local authorities responsible for providing care in 'mental asylums' for those who needed it. Although a little different from some of the public assistance records in the sub-fonds, they are closely related, and have been kept here for the convenience of users.

The records
These records are not extensive: only a small amount of records relating to public assistance and welfare have been received by the Record Office, and they are patchy in nature. They include:
-records relating to the transfer of responsibilities from the Board of Guardians to the City Council
-a small number of records relating to applications for public assistance, pre-1945
-a small number of records of financial contributions by relatives
-a small number of records relating to children boarded out or in homes
-a small number of social services service development plans
-records relating to asylums and provision for the mentally ill

The records have not yet been catalogued in detail. Please contact the Record Office for more information.

Related records: the surviving records of the Bath Board of Guardians, including a very small number of items for the period after 1930, are catalogued under the reference BGB.