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

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Kensington 1912

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]

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58
"Routine inspections of the workshops shown on the above list were carried out during the
year, and complaints from His Majesty's inspectors or anonymous sources received immediate
attention."
Ventilation.—In response to notices, additional means of ventilation were provided in 27 of
the workrooms visited. Whilst a very marked improvement in the ventilation of workshops has
been effected in the last eleven years, it is still necessary to serve notices from time to time
in cases where unventilated gas stoves are added in existing workrooms or where premises become
occupied as workshops which have not hitherto been used for the purpose.
Overcrowding.—Nine cases of overcrowding were dealt with during the year, as compared
with 11 in the year 1911, and 10 in the year 1910. Employers are provided by the Council with
cards showing the maximum number of workers allowed in each workroom, and cases where
the number shown on the card is deliberately exceeded are now of rare occurrence.
Sanitary Conveniences—During the year defects in 29 sanitary conveniences attached to
workshops were found and remedied.
HOME WORK.
An analysis of the return made to the Home Office on "Home Work" shows that 1,045
addresses and names of outworkers were received on the lists sent in by the employers residing
in this Borough, and of these 798 were forwarded to the Councils of the respective districts in
which they were situated; the remaining 247 being in Kensington.
These 247 names and addresses, together with 360 received from other Councils, will, when
divided by half (since most, if not all are duplicates sent in twice in the year) give approximately
the number of homeworkers on the register of the Borough of Kensington.
Of the 303 outworkers so registered, some are employed on premises which are factories or
workshops within the meaning of the Factory and Workshops Act, 1901, others work in domestic
workshops, whilst the remainder are the genuine "Home Workers" engaged in their homes on
the work given out to them by various firms and contractors in Kensington and other districts.

The number of outworkers belonging to each of these three classes is shown in the following Table:-

Home Work.

Outworkers in Workshops or Factories110
Outworkers in Domestic Workshops25
Outworkers in their own Homes168
Total number of Outworkers303

The factories and workshops referred to in the above list are included in the Table which
shows the trades carried on in the workshops on the Council's register.