Folios 296-297. Letter from James Saunders, Clerk to the East Dereham Local Board...

Folios 296-297. Letter from James Saunders, Clerk to the East Dereham Local Board in the Mitford and Launditch Poor Law Union, to the Local Government Board. He replies to their letter of 1 December 1879, which concerned the 'Return of Salaries' paid to the Medical Officer and the Inspector of Nuisances to the Board. He confirms that he made the application for repayment from the parliamentary grant for a moiety of the salaries by letter 9 December 1878 and 26 June 1879 when a second application was made to them on the same subject. Furthermore forms forwarded on 5 July 1879 were returned to them on 18 September 1879 a delay caused by the fact that the auditor had not previously audited the accounts of the Local Board for the year ending 25 March 1879 and the vouchers could not be enclosed until this was done. He has been instructed by the Local Board to state that as the application was made before the end of the year 1878 for the return of a moiety of the salaries, the applications were made in due time and he requests therefore that the Board should take them into consideration and reconsider the matter and advise his board as to what steps can be taken to obtain a return of the salaries applied for.
Annotated: ' Acknowledge and say that the repayments are made annually after Michaelmas; and that as no Returns, claiming repayment of a moiety of the salaries for the year ended at Michaelmas 1878 were received by the Board until the 18 September last, they cannot make any repayment for the year in question. He should not have awaited for the Audit, but should have forwarded the Returns and the Vouchers to the Board immediately after the officers had been paid', 30 December 1879.
Annotated: 'Annex the forms in correspondence', 30 December 1879.
Annotated; '[Mr Geer]. The difficulty in this case is that when the Sanitary Authority applied for repayment on the 9 December 1878 no notice was taken of their application, and no forms were sent until 5 July 1879 in consequence of another application on 21 June 1879. I think that, under the circumstances, the two years should be repaid. Say that the Board have had under their consideration the further representations made by the Local Board and as they appear to have been under the impression that it was necessary that the vouchers for these salaries should be submitted to the auditor before the claim for repayment [co & co] made the Board will deal with the case as an exceptional one and have already arranged that the repayments shall be made. It must be understood, however that in future the repayments must be applied for before the expiry of the financial year within which they are to be made even if the audit has not been held', 2 January 1880.
Annotated: 'Annexed', 31 December 1879.
[See also paper numbers 71695/F/1879, 83216/1878 and 50520/1879.]

Paper Number: 94901/1879.

Poor Law Union Number: 302.

Counties: Norfolk.