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(e) Provision of Sanitary Accommodation.—Section 9 of
the Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, states that " Every
factory and workshop must be provided with a sufficient
number of sanitary conveniences, with separate accommodation
for persons of each sex." The Section does not apply to
London : the powers of the Metropolitan Sanitary Authorities
in this respect being granted by Section 38 of the Public
Health (London) Act, 1891, which reads as follows:—
" Every factory, workshop and workplace, whether
erected before or after the passing of this Act, shall be provided
with sufficient and suitable accommodation in the way
of sanitary conveniences, regard being had to the number of
persons in or in attendance at such building, and also, where
persons of both sexes are, or are intended to be, employed, or
in attendance with proper separate accommodation for persons
of each sex."
This important requirement has been enforced in every
instance in Battersea, thoug-h at times difficulty has been
experienced. In the larger premises in which many hands are
employed, there is usually ample accommodation provided,
but in the smaller workshops the sanitary convenience is usually
a secondary consideration, and is in many cases badly constructed
and inconveniently situated. Part of this difficulty
arises from the fact that the sanitary accommodation provided
is that which existed for the use of the family residing- in the
dwelling which has later been utilised as a workshop. Many
of the workshops in the Borough are situate in private houses,
and the accommodation for the requirements of the inmates
which at one time was sufficient is now inadequate or unsuitable
in other respects. It is not always easy to overcome this
difficulty, even when the occupier is prepared to meet the
requirements of the Act, owing to perhaps structural or other
unsuitability.
The " standard of accommodation " in Battersea is that
fixed by the Home Office Order of 1903. The provisions of
the Order are as follows :—