View report page

62
ing to unfit houses was confined during 1919 to proceedings
under the Public Health (London) Act, and
as regards verminous rooms under the London County
Council General Powers Act, 1909.
No action was taken under the Housing Acts, but
the survey of housing needs required by the Act of 1919
was completed and forwarded to the Housing Commission
on October 31st. The time, however, given was,
as recognised by the Ministry, too short to permit of
an accurate or detailed survey ; but it should
give a fairly accurate idea of the housing conditions of
the borough, and steps are now being taken to supplement
it by a systematic and continuous inspection of
defective houses with the view of putting into force, as
far as practicable, the provisions of the Act relating to
unfit houses.
4. Difficulties in remedying unfitness.—During the
past three or four years difficulty has been experienced
in getting work done in consequence of the scarcity of
labour and materials, and the attention of the Inspectors
has been mainly confined to securing the abatement
of the more acute nuisances, and works of a less
urgent character have been postponed until more
normal times.
The procedure, too, formerly practised by the
Council, of referring to the Law and Parliamentary
Committee all cases in which prosecutions were
advised by the Public Health Committee, led in the past
always to unnecessary delay and occasionally resulted
in no action being taken to enforce the requirements of
the Council. Under the Standing Orders of the Council
the Public Health Committee are responsible for the
execution of the provisions of the Public Health and
kindred Acts, and it certainly does not promote efficiency
when their decisions, based upon the reports of
their officers, are overridden by another Committee
who have, as a rule, but an imperfect knowledge of the
facts, and whose true function should be to advise on
any point of law that may be referred to them.