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under this Statute is always taken in regard to any
house found to be in such a state as to be a nuisance or
injurious or dangerous to health. In this respect, the
introduction of the London County Council (General Powers)
Act, 1951, which strengthens the powers under the 1936
Act, is welcomed, as it enables the Council to recover
as a charge on the property, expenses incurred in repairing
houses under the Public Health (London) Act, where "owners"
have failed to comply with Justices' Orders to abate
nuisances.
Slum clearance. In spite of the fact that reasons
of national importance prevent slum clearance on a large
scale, the Council have been able to make some progress
as far as Kensington is concerned. The legal formalities
in regard to the four areas represented for clearance
in 1950 have been completed, and notwithstanding objections
from interested parties, the action taken has been
confirmed by the Minister of Housing and Local Government.
Steps are now being taken to rehouse the occupiers and
demolish the unfit buildings.
During 1951, five additional areas have been
represented for slum clearance.
Hostels. An interesting development by the Council
during the year was the making of special byelaws under
the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, to control the
management of hostels in the borough. Speaking generally,
hostels are well maintained when under the control of
recognised bodies, but standards in some of the privatelyowned
hostels were not much better than in those common
lodging houses which existed years ago for accommodating
the vagrant or casual user. Action is being taken at the
present time to secure proper standards and amenities in
all hostels.
Old People. The welfare work in relation to old people
has been substantially extended and carried on vigorously
during the year. A special feature, which proved most
successful, was the introduction of a scheme to provide
holidays for old people who had not had a change of air
or scenery for many years. The gratitude and appreciation
of the old people, who benefitted under the scheme, were
very rewarding, and the Council have decided to make
increased provision for 1952.
VITAL STATISTICS
The table set out on the next two pages gives the
important vital statistics for 1951, together with
comparative figures for the previous seven years.