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172
1904]
Places where Food is Prepared.—Apart from Bakehouses there are
336 places, such as restaurant kitchens, where food is prepared. At the end of
1903, Miss Gray had not completed her inspection of these places. It was,
therefore, continued during the year, and she reports that while some of them
were in excellent condition, yet there was room for improvement in most of
them, and she goes on to say that the defect she found most frequently was
the accumulation of refuse on the premises, and she adds that an effort should
be made to secure a daily removal of refuse from such places. There is no
doubt that cleanliness is absolutely essential, and that the only way to
obtain it is by frequent and systematic inspection, which is, unfortunately,
impossible with the staff of inspectors whose duties are to administer
the Factory and Workshop Acts in a large borough like Islington. An
additional inspector is greatly required to thoroughly carry out the duties and
responsibilities cast on the Council under its provisions. As these were fully
set out in the Report for 1903 (pp. 167-171), it is not necessary to repeat
them now.
Laundries.—At the end of 1903, there were 193 on the register, to which
5 were added, and from which 27 were removed in 1904, so that at the end of
the year there were 171, containing 439 rooms. These laundries were inspected
346 times. Generally speaking, they were found in a better condition than
formerly, but, as the female inspector points out in her interesting report,
"though many of the hand laundries are well kept and well arranged, others
are carried on in such unsuitable premises, and are so badly managed, that the
gradual absorbtion of the business by the large steam laundries is a matter for
congratulation." Really what is required is that these hand laundries should
be all licensed, work being permitted only in those that meet with the requirements
that may from time to time be laid down by the sanitary authority.
Miss Gray has mentioned some requirements which she thinks necessary, and
her suggestions are valuable.
Workshops Notified to H.M. Inspector.—130 Workshops were
notified to H.M. Factory Inspector, wherein 472 "protected persons," of
whom 9 were young males under the age of eighteen, but who had ceased to
be children. The particulars as to the trades carried on in these workshops
are set out in the following table.