London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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48
The requirements which the Minister of Housing and Local
Government has specified for a dwelling in respect of which an
improvement grant may be made are as follows
The dwelling must, after improvement or
1. Be in a good state of repair and substantially
free from damp;
2. have each room properly lighted and ventilated;
3. have an adequate supply of wholesome water laid
on inside the dwelling;
4. be provided with efficient and adequate means of
supplying hot water for domestic purposes;
5. have an internal or otherwise readily accessible
water closet;
6. have a fixed bath (or shower) preferably in a
separate room;
7. be provided with a sink or sinks and with
suitable arrangements for the disposal of
waste water;
8. have a proper drainage system;
9. be provided in each room with adequate points
for gas or electric lighting (where reasonably
available);
10. be provided with adequate facilities for
heating;
11. have satisfactory facilities for storing,
preparing and cooking food;
12. have proper provision for the storage of
fuel (where required).
Applications for improvement (discretionary) grants received and dealt with during 1961 are summarised as follows
| Applications received | 24 |
| Applications granted | 23 |
| Applications refused | 1 |
| Total amount of grants approved | £8,278. Os. Od. |
The second method is to apply for standard grants, which
were introduced by the House Purchase & Housing Act, 1959, which
came into operation on 14th June, 1959. The Act sets up a new
system of standard grants to supplement the present system of
improvement grants paid at the discretion of the local authority.
The distinctive features of the new system are that these grants
are payable only in respect of the provision of specified standard
amenities and on the expenditure actually incurred for this purpose;
and that provided certain conditions are satisfied the owner of the
property can claim the grant sis of right. The new system has been
designed to produce as simple a procedure as possible and enable
owners generally to form a reasonably accurate idea of the assistance
they can hope to receive before any expense is incurred. It is
designed to deal in the main with relatively straightforward cases
in which the improvements involve little or no structural alteration,