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
Holborn 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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30
Street Trading.
The London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1927, by Part VI, conferred
powers on Local Authorities in London to issue licences to street traders and made
it unlawful for any person to sell or expose, or offer for sale, any article or thing
from or upon any barrow, cart, stall, or other receptacle occupying a stationary
position at a place in the carriage way or footway of any street in any Metropolitan
Borough, without such licence. The Act also provided for the making of By-laws
by the Borough Council relative to various matters cognate to such street trading,
including the storage of and the sanitary supervision (while at the place of intended
sale or exposure or offering for sale) of articles of food intended to be sold or exposed
or offered for sale under the authority of the licence. By-laws made by the Holborn
Council in pursuance of these powers were approved by the Home Secretary and
came into operation in the early part of 1928. The enforcement! of the By-laws,
so far as they deal with the sanitary supervision of the articles exposed for sale,
is being undertaken by the Public Health Department.
I received information from the Borough Engineer respecting 93 applications from street traders for annual licences to sell various articles of food as follows: —
| Coffee stalls | 6 |
| Confectionery | 5 |
| Confectionery and drinks | 3 |
| Eels and shell fish | 3 |
| Fish—wet and dry | 7 |
| Fruit | 26 |
| Fruit and vegetables | 10 |
| Groceries | 3 |
| Ice cream | 4 |
| Ice cream and chestnuts | 6 |
| Meat | 3 |
| Poultry, eggs and provisions | 6 |
| Vegetables | 11 |
| 93 |
All the storage places situated in the Borough were inspected.
Ice Cream.
With a view to dealing more efficiently with the manufacture, storage and
sale of ice cream, provision was included in the London County Council (General
Powers) Act, 1928, for the registration with the sanitary authority of premises
proposed to be used for such purposes. The provision does not apply to premises
occupied as a factory or workshop, respecting which notice is required by Subsection
I of Section 127 of the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, nor to any
premises used as an hotel, restaurant or club. Although the provision requiring
registration of these premises is welcomed as a progressive step towards the better
control of the manufacture, storage and sale of this commodity, it is to be
regretted that no power is given to local authorities, to refuse registration of