Local Government Board and predecessors: Correspondence with Poor Law Unions and...

In addition to its specialised duties the Poor Law Department of the Local Government Board was responsible for a long period for business not carried out by other departments and was soon known as the General Correspondence Department. These general duties were later taken over by the Chief Clerk's Department, the General Correspondence Department then becoming known as the Poor Law Administration Department. The main work of the department was the supervision of poor law administration by the poor law unions outside London and, after 1873, of related medical services for the poor.

In this work the administrative staff were aided by a number of inspectorates responsible for the maintenance of direct contact with the poor law unions and the inspection of poor law institutions; from 1886 to 1913 the assistant secretary in charge of the department also held the post of chief general inspector. Poor law matters in London were dealt with by the Metropolitan Department until 1884, when that aspect of its work was taken over by the General Correspondence Department.

The Metropolitan Common Poor Fund was administered by the Metropolitan Common Poor Fund and Loans Department, the Architect's Department dealt with poor law buildings, the Order Department with legal matters relating to poor law authorities, the Audit Department with the audit of the accounts of those authorities, and the Paid Officers Department with the employment of poor law officials.

The department was originally formed by the Poor Law Board to deal with correspondence and accounts in connection with the Metropolitan Common Poor Fund established by the Metropolitan Poor Act of 1867 to equalise the burden of the poor rate between the richer and poorer districts of London. At this stage it was called the Metropolitan Common Poor Fund and Loans Department. In 1878 it took over from the Sanitary Department the supervision of the management, use and repayment of loans advanced to local authorities by the Public Works Loan Board, and included an inspector of loans and local acts who undertook enquiries into loan appropriation and the exercise of powers under local acts.

The department was not concerned with loan sanction, which was dealt with by the Sanitary Department, except in cases of appropriation of existing loans. It also considered the form of local acts and, after 1894, Metropolis Water Acts, which the board had power to vary. After 1882 work relating to the Metropolitan Common Poor Fund was undertaken by the retired permanent secretary and ceased to concern the department. In 1884 it was absorbed by the Audit Department but was again separated in 1892 under the title Local Loans and Local Acts Department.