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Changing costs, falling house values and progressive
dilapidation have necessitated considerable amendment of
the criteria formerly adopted for determining the "reasonable
cost" of property repairs.
Government policy does not, at the present time, permit
extensive slum clearance programmes, but pending a relaxation
of restrictions, the Council have resolved to undertake
clearance procedure in certain selected small areas and the
necessary steps are in train.
There is no doubt that the demand for housing accommodation
in the borough, both permanent and temporary, is increasing
year by year. As one consequence, it has been noted that the
number of buildings converted into, or used as, hostels, is
increasing. Investigation has shown that some of these
establishments need stringent supervision and the Council
are at the present time in the process of making byelaws
which will simplify the task of ensuring that conditions
in all hostels are maintained at a satisfactory standard.
As later indicated the Council have furthered their
campaign in relation to clean food by the holding of a
Food Hygiene Exhibition and by the constitution of a Food
Hygiene Advisory Committee, who have formulated basic and
specific codes of practice covering the main food-handling
occupations.
Efforts to ameliorate the lot of the aged have
continued and several new projects in this direction are
described. The work in connection with the visiting of old
people was increased during the year and an assistant Woman
Health Officer was appointed. It was decided that a
register of old people should be maintained and, by the
end of the year, 2,538 names of old people were listed. The
total number of visits made was 2,155 compared with 504
the previous year.
There has been an attempt to improve the environmental
conditions of persons suffering from tuberculosis and, with
this end in view, the investigation of home circumstances
of all newly notified cases has been intensified.
Schemes for the provision of coster mongers' stabling
and food stores were rendered possible by the passage of
the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1950, which
contains a section conferring powers on the Borough Council.
It is hoped that it will be possible in the near future to
replace some of the unsatisfactory mews, stables and food
stores by new premises of modern hygienic design.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
POPULATION. The Registrar General's estimate (177,400)
of the population of the borough for 1950 again showed an
increase over the figure for the previous year (174,220).
The actual population figure for Kensington obtained as a
result of the recent Census is not yet available.
BIRTH RATE. The decline in the annual birth rate
since 1946 was not maintained in 1950, when the rate (15.5)
showed a slight increase compared with the previous year
(15.4). The birth rate for London was 17.8 and that for
England and Wales was 15.8.