General administration of indoor and outdoor relief

Weekly returns (Form A) made first to the Assistant Poor Law Commissioner and later (from M4/2/2 in this collection) to the Poor Law Inspector. They are returns of 'indoor and 'outdoor' paupers, giving detail of the number of inmates of the Manchester, Blackley and Prestwich workhouses and the amounts of relief given in the several relieving districts. The returns to the Poor Law Inspectors have also returns of vagrants relieved and lunatics cared for in asylums.

From M4/2/5 the returns include details of cases of infectious diseases among the inmates of the Manchester workhouse. Later forms change to include institutions taken over from other Unions.