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exists and until the rents are sufficiently increased to
enable landlords to secure a reasonable return on their
outlay, the future of housing repairs in the borough seems
rather dark.
There is, however, one ray of light insofar as the
number of applications for improvement grants under the
Housing Act, 1949, is increasing, and it is hoped that much
benefit will accrue thereby. Houses newly converted into
flats after the introduction of the 1954 Act are removed
from the restriction of the Rents Acts. That is to say, if
an owner converts a house into two or more self-contained
flats, he can charge, (subject to the approval of the Council
where an improvement grant is made) such rents as will give
him a reasonable return on his expenditure.
The Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954, is still in
its early stages of operation and it is hoped that as the
experience of this Council and other authorities accumulates,
the solution of the problem of dealing with dilapidated
houses will become clearer.
Food Hygiene. The work of improving the hygiene
standards in food shops received a strong impetus when the
London County Council made byelaws for the Protection of
Food, which are enforced by the Metropolitan Borough Councils.
A great deal of work was carried out under these byelaws in
1953 and the inspection of food shops was continued during
the year under review. It was hoped, however, that the new
Food and Drugs (Amendment) Act would have been put into
operation in 1954, but, as is commonly known, difficulties
arose regarding the Government's proposals to make various
regulations governing food hygiene and practice. The 1954
Act, whilst on the Statute Book, is in fact inoperative
(apart from Section 28, which deals with slaughterhouses).
It is understood that the Government's intention is to
introduce a consolidated Food and Drugs Bill, the passing of
which will be made to coincide with new food hygiene
regulations. Until these new legislative operations are
completed, the Council must rely upon the byelaws for the
protection of food, which do not go so far as the regulations
originally proposed. However, where measures could be taken
to improve food hygiene, they have been carried out. For
example, in the quinquennial inspection of underground
bakehouses, under the Factories Act, 1937, the Council have
secured the closure of thirteen more unsatisfactory underground
bakehouses. At the present time, only fourteen underground
premises are certified as suitable for baking purposes,
which compares with a figure of fifty-nine when the Factories
Act, 1937, first came into operation.
Old People's Welfare. The welfare work in relation to
old people is developing satisfactorily and is proving to be
one of the more important post-war developments in public
health work.
One of the problems is the need for more intensive
visiting of old people in their own homes. Experience over
the past years has shown that old people, living alone and
unvisited, often neglect themselves. The rate of
deterioration in their living standard increases very
rapidly and in some cases annoyance is caused to other
tenants in the houses. In 1952, the Council increased the
staff dealing with old people by the appointment of an
assistant woman health officer. In that year 3,388 cases
of old people were known to the public health department.
At the end of 1954 the number had increased to 5,100. The
following table gives a summary of the visiting and
interviewing work for the last three years :-