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Factory and Workshops Act.
This Act, which came into force on January Ist, 1902,
brings the supervision of workshops and workplaces under the
control of the district council. The chief points for which we
are responsible are bakehouses, the sanitary condition of
workshops, workplaces (in which the kitchens of restaurants
wisely have been held to be included) and laundries.
With regard to bakehouses, the whole subject is still
under the consideration of your Committee. They have
decided to visit all the bakehouses, firstly, with a view of drawing
up some regulations which shall apply to all bakehouses ; and
secondly, with a view of pointing out to those responsible the
particular direction in which such regulations shall apply in
the case of any individual bakehouse.
The points that particularly need attention, so far as
structures are concerned, are the conditions of the walls, the ceilings
and the floors ; the provision of a proper water supply and
of proper light and ventilation; these subjects are being considered
in especial matter by your Committee in addition to
other sanitary requirements.
The inspections made of bakehouses by myself and the
Inspectors amounted to 455.
Fifty eating houses were inspected, and it was found
necessary to serve 12 intimation notices in respect of such
inspections. In one case it was found that the w.c. opened
out of the very small kitchen of the eating-house.
Of the eating-houses, 17 were clean, 21 in a fair condition,
while 12 were dirty.
There have been 149 inspections of workshops by Miss
Bevan, and 490 re-inspections while there were 10 in regard to
factories. In 64 instances it was necessary to demand certain
improvements.
A register is now kept of outworkers, and every morning
as the list of notifications of infectious diseases is made out it is
referred to her and she goes through this to see if any are
included in the register, and if so the respective Medical
Officers of Health are written to.
647 outworkers were also visited, and of these it was
found that work was being done on dirty premises in 43
instances.