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55
In a number of premises utilisers are still used. A utiliser enables waste beer to pass through a
filter and to be then re-incorporated at a pre-determined rate with new beer for re-sale to customers.
I here can be little objection to the use of these appliances provided they are kept clean and "glass
dregs" are not incorporated, but licensees generally deny using "glass dregs." During the inspections
special investigations were not made to test the truth of the licensees' contention.
As on the former inspections, the bar counters were, for the main part, in a cleanly condition.
There are, however, one or two features which are deserving of attention. In 43 premises no hot
water supply is available at the counter, and in such cases the licensee has to carry hot water from
some other part of the bar to the bar counter, with the result that in many cases during rush periods
the glasses are merely rinsed in cold water. The council have at present no power to insist on hot
water being installed, but such power is in the new Food and Drugs Act, which comes into operation
next October.
An interesting feature regarding bar counters is the new departure by one brewery company
of fitting close to their counter sinks a separate receptacle into which "glass dregs" can be tipped
before the glass is immersed in water for washing. Kensington was the first place in which these
receptacles were supplied, and licensees of houses where they have been fitted consider the idea a
good one, for in periods of pressure it is found that the water in the sink does not get dirty so quickly
as in those places where no such appliance is installed.
Beer pumps, or engines as they are sometimes called, are located under the bar counter, and
access is obtained by removing the front of the counter. A certain amount of difficulty in removing
these counter fronts was observed in many cases, and in a number a screw driver had to be employed
before the front could be removed. It is not surprising that in such cases the pumps were found
to be in a defective condition. Of the premises inspected the pumps were found to be defective in
23, and notices were served requiring the defects to be remedied. It was noticeable that in the
more modern houses, or in houses which had been rebuilt, a hinged door fitted with a key was
provided to the counter front, so as to enable access to these pumps to be more readily obtained.
The tendency to increase the food trade in licensed premises which was observed in 1930 was
still in evidence during the present examinations. It is only the smaller houses in the poorer parts
of the borough where no provision whatsoever is made for the supply of food to customers. Kitchens
in which food is prepared are usually the domestic kitchens used by the licensees, and with just a
few exceptions, where it was found necessary to serve notices requiring the cleansing of walls and
ceilings, the conditions found were satisfactory. Unlike the position in a number of restaurants,
the kitchens found in public houses are usually located on one or other of the upper floors where
ventilation to the external air is easily obtainable. In nearly all public houses where food is provided,
electric refrigerators were found, and in only seven cases was it found necessary to direct attention
by means of a notice to unsatisfactory food storage conditions.
There has been some extension of the "snacks at the bar" trade, and in several premises special
counters have been erected where cold collations are served. In those places where these counters
have been constructed little fault can be found. There are, however, a number of premises where
these snacks are displayed on the ordinary bar counter, and customers stand within a few inches
of the food. In such cases there is danger of contamination of the food.
In all the larger public houses it was usual to find that one or more employees lived on the
premises. In such cases an inspection was made of the living and sleeping rooms used by these
persons. In five cases it was found that sleeping rooms were overcrowded, and licensees were asked
to make alternative arrangements. The general cleanliness of these rooms was on the whole satisfactory,
but in 36 it was necessary to serve notices requiring cleansing of the walls and ceilings.
The question of w.c. accommodation in public houses is one which presents difficulty, and
it might be well to draw attention to one or two points. In London there is no obligation on the
owner or occupier of licensed premises to provide sanitary accommodation for his customers, although
in the provinces such accommodation is enforceable under the Public Health Act, 1936. With
regard to the staff, however, licensed premises come within the scope of the Shops Act, and under
that Act the owner or occupier is required to provide suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences
for the use of the employees, including provision for the separation of the sexes. In the larger
houses provision is adequate for both the staff and the customers, but it is otherwise in the smaller
type of house. It is found in practice that where provision for w.c. accommodation has not been
made for customers, such persons are frequently allowed to use the w.c. s normally intended for the
use of persons residing on the premises. There would seem to be some justification for urging that
metropolitan boroughs be given power similar to that at present operating in the provinces for
enforcing sanitary accommodation for customers. Section 89 (1) of the provincial Public Health
Act, 1936, reads as follows:—
A local authority may by notice require the owner or occupier of any inn, public-house,
beer-house, refreshment house or place of public entertainment, to provide and maintain in
a suitable position such number of sanitary conveniences for the use of persons frequenting
the premises as may be reasonable.
The survey revealed that sanitary conditions in public houses in the borough have greatly
improved since 1930, and this affords justification for the action taken by the council in that year