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Legal Proceedings.
During the year, legal proceedings were taken by the Council in
326 cases, for the enforcement of various Acts, by-laws, regulations,
etc., administered by the Health Department. A summary is set out
below, and further details will be found in the sections dealing with the
respective matters.
Public Health (London) Act, 1936 304
Food and Drugs Act, 1938 16
Milk and Dairies Order, 1926 1
London County Council By-laws re Pag and Bone
Dealers 3
Housing Act, 1936 1
National Assistance Act, 1948 (Removal of Aged
and Infirm Persons) 1
326
Fines totalling £43 were imposed in connection with these proceedings,
and £203 6s. 6d. costs were awarded to the Council.
Public Health (London) Act, 1936.
The provisions of this Act in regard to Nuisances continued to
afford practically the only means whereby the remedy of insanitary
conditions found in dwelling houses could be secured.
During the year, 4,164 Intimation, and 2,519 Statutory (Nuisance)
Notices were served. The high proportion of Statutory to Intimation
Notices gives some indication of the difficulty in securing compliance
with the latter. Furthermore, legal proceedings to enforce compliance
with Statutory Notices had to be taken in no less than 296 cases.
Of these, 100 resulted in Nuisance Orders being made by the Court.
The remaining 196 summonses were either adjourned or withdrawn,
as the work required to comply with the Notices was either in hand,
or had been completed, before the hearing. In no case were the
proceedings unsuccessful.
In 33 cases action to enforce compliance with Nuisance Orders
had to be taken. In 26 of these, the Council carried out the work in
default of the persons on whom the Orders were made. In those cases,
the Council were entitled to recover the cost of the works from those
persons, and accounts were accordingly rendered to them. Most of
these accounts had been settled by the end of the year, but in one
instance proceedings for the recovery of the cost had to be taken.
An Order for payment was secured. In the remaining 7 cases, the
Council elected to take proceedings for non-compliance with the
Nuisance Orders. Fines totalling £25 were imposed, and the work
was eventually done by the owners.