London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Battersea 1910

Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1910

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Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1903.
During 1910, five applications were received for the certificate
of the Medical Officer of Health under the Revenue Act, 1903, in
connection with tenements (or dwellings) so constructed as to afford
suitable accommodation for each of the families inhabiting such
tenements. After inspection one certificate was granted in respect
of two tenements, the remainder having been refused or postponed.
The object which the Legislature had in view in connection with
these certificates was to induce owners of tenement property to provide
a higher standard of accommodation for tenants of this class of
property by offering in such cases as were certified as suitable an
abatement in the inhabited house duty.
In the new Housing and Town Planning Act, a further extension
has been made by exempting from inhabited house duty
any house occupied for the sole purpose of letting lodgings to
persons of the working class, at a charge not exceeding 6 pence a
night for each person, if certified by the Medical Officer of Health
to have due provision made for the sanitary requirements of the
lodgers using such lodging houses. No applications were made for
certificates in respect of this class of lodging house during 1910.
Water Supply.
During the year 1910, 83 applications were received for certificates
of water supply in accordance with Section 48 of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1891 and granted in each instance.
Twenty-eight notices of withdrawal of supply for various reasons
were received from the Metropolitan Water Board, and in 5 instances
the supply was reinstated under notice. Under the provisions of Sec.
78 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1907,
additional supplies to the upper floors of tenement houses were provided
in 126 instances.
Disinfecting Department.
During the year 1910, 3,834 rooms and 48,205 infected articles
were disinfected as compared with 4,192 rooms and 58,474 infected
articles in 1909.
A total number of 880 cases of notifiable infectious diseases
were reported during the year, but in addition to these a large
amount of disinfection was carried out in connection with measles,
tuberculosis, cancer, verminous houses, &c.
In seventy-six instances Schools or departments of schools were
disinfected in connection with outbreaks of infectious disease.