London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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31
HOME WORK.
Of the 320 outworkers registered, some are employed on premises which are factories or
workshops within the meaning of the Factory and Workshops Act, 1901, others work in domestic
workshops, whilst the remainder are the genuine "Home Workers" engaged in their homes on the
work given out to them by various firms and contractors in Kensington and other districts.
The number of outworkers belonging to each of these three classes is shown in the following Table
| Outworkers in Workshops or Factories | 58 |
| Outworkers in Domestic Workshops | |
| Outworkers in their own Homes | 202 |
| Total number of Outworkers | 320 |
The factories and workshops referred to in the above list are included in the Tables which
shows the trades carried on in the factories and workshops on the Council's register.
The nature of the work given out to the home workers in the 202 homes on the register is as follows:—
| Tailoring | 69 |
| Dressmaking | 48 |
| Bootmaking | 26 |
| Outfitting | 24 |
| Ironing | 20 |
| Shirtmaking | 3 |
| Millinery | 3 |
| Embroidery | 2 |
| Artificial flowers | 1 |
| Feather worker | 1 |
| Hosier | 1 |
| Knitting | 1 |
| Lace mending | 1 |
| Tie maker | 1 |
| Upholstery | 1 |
| 202 |
Infectious Disease.—Infectious disease occurred in three premises where home work was carried
on. In no instance was it found necessary to stop the work as the infected persons were
immediately removed to hospital and disinfection carried out.
The appended Table summarises the work for the year of the Women Sanitary Inspectors under the Factory and Workshops' Acts, so far as it is capable of being expressed in this form:—
| 1. | Factory Inspections, No. of | 70 |
| 2. | Workshop „ „ | 889 |
| 3. | Home Workers Inspections, No. of | 338 |
| 4. | Work Place „ „ | 61 |
| 5. | ||
| 6 | ||
| 34 | ||
| 26 | ||
| 24 | ||
| „ „ insufficient | 1 | |
| „ ,, not separate for sexes | 1 | |
| 6. | Written Intimations issued | 35 |
| 7. | Statutory Notices issued | 4 |
Home Office Tables.
The following tables are supplied by request of the Secretary of State and contain a summary
of the inspections made and the defects found and remedied in workshops and factories within the
Borough, where men, women, young persons or children are employed. In Table IV. the chief
classes of workshops are set forth. Table V. shows the number of cases in which action was taken
in matters referred to the Council by H.M Inspectors.