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2
Infectious diseases. There was no serious outbreak of
infectious disease in the borough during 1954. The total
number of notifications received was 896 in comparison with
1,846 in the previous year. The reduction in notifications
was mainly due to only 136 cases of whooping cough having
been notified in 1954 compared with 485 cases notified in
1953, and only 94 cases of measles compared with 740.
No case of diphtheria was notified in 1954; there were
two cases in the previous year. This is the second year on
record when no case of diphtheria was notified in the borough;
the first occasion being in 1952.
Tuberculosis. The death rate from all forms of
tuberculosis per 100,000 population was 14.0, which is much
lower than last year's figure (19.2). The 1954 rate is the
lowest figure ever recorded in Kensington, and compares very
favourably with the rate (17.9) for England and Wales.
Housing. The passing of the Housing Repairs and Rents
Act on the 30th August, 1954, brought fresh hope to the problem
of dealing with unfit housing accommodation in the borough.
Under Section 1 of the Act, the Council were required to
prepare proposals for dealing with unfit property. The
Minister of Housing and Local Government requested all local
authorities to submit to him their proposals not later than
the 30th August, 1955. In London, proposals must be
submitted jointly by the London County Council, and the
Council of each Metropolitan Borough.
The inspectorial staff of the public health department
were busily engaged during the year in making surveys of
those areas of the borough, where it was known that unfit
houses existed. As a result of these surveys, the proposals
adopted by the Council and forwarded to the London County
Council for approval, are set out later in this Report. At
the time of writing, these proposals are under consideration
in common with those submitted by the other London boroughs,
and it is hoped that the Council will be enabled to proceed
on the lines they have suggested.
That part of the Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954,
dealing with permitted increases in rents has not been used
to any great extent in Kensington. The number of cases where
an increase of rent has been demanded by the landlord and
where the tenant has applied for a certificate of disrepair
has been comparatively negligible; only 50 such applications
were received from tenants during the year.
It would appear at this early stage that the effect of
the Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954, in Kensington has
not been of much practical benefit. There are two obvious
reasons. Firstly, that notwithstanding the right to increase
rents, landlords are still finding the cost of repairing their
houses uneconomical, and secondly, that in many cases the
maximum rent permitted under the 1954 Act, namely twice the
gross rateable value, had already been reached or practically
so. It may be that with the introduction of new valuation
lists as from 1st April, 1956, the position will be materially
altered and landlords may be further encouraged, by new
legislation, to repair their property by relating the maximum
permitted rent to gross rateable values on 1st April, 1956,
instead of 30th August, 1954.
The Council's work of enforcing the repair of houses under
Part II of the Housing Act, 1936, is still at a standstill.
The introduction of a new standard of fitness under the 1954
Act has not improved the position. The main difficulty,
namely that the cost of repairs must be reasonable, still