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upon whether sufficient volunteers are prepared to offer their help. For
preference, every one of the sixteen Wards of the Borough should be
represented by a voluntary worker.
Rag Flock and other Filling Materials Act, 1951.
This Act, which came into force on the 1st November, 1951, and
is enforceable by the Council, repealed the Rag Flock Acts, 1911 and
1928, and Section 136 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, which
dealt with the sale of rag flock. It enacts new provisions relating not
only to rag flock, but also to a number of other filling materials, e.g.,
kapok, feathers, down, straw, hair, unwoven cotton and woollen
substances, etc., specified in it. The Minister of Local Government and
Planning, and the Home Secretary, acting jointly, have power to extend
this list.
The principal provisions of the Act are as follows:—
Registration: Premises in which rag flock or other filling materials
are used in upholstering, or the stuffing or lining of bedding, toys, baby
carriages, and any other articles prescribed by regulations, must, with
certain exceptions, be registered with the Council.
Licensing: Premises used for the manufacture or storage of rag
flock (but not other filling materials) must be licensed by the Council.
Entry, Inspection and Sampling: An authorised officer of the
Council has right of entry at all reasonable times to registered or licensed
premises, or premises which he has grounds for believing should be
registered or licensed. He may inspect any articles, and take samples
of any filling materials. The Medical Officer of Health, and Sanitary
Inspectors, are deemed to be authorised officers.
The Minister subsequently made the Rag Flock and Other Filling
Materials Regulations, 1951, prescribing standards of cleanliness for
each king of filling material, the methods of testing samples, the nature
of the tests to be applied, the names and addresses of Analysts, the form
of certificate of analysis, and the fees payable.
There are no premises in the Borough dealing with rag flock.
There are, however, six premises at which other filling materials are
used in such circumstances as to require them to be registered,
Registration of these premises has been duly effected.
Eleven visits were made to registered premises during the year, but
no contravention of the Act was discovered. Three informal samples
of filling materials were taken and submitted to the Analyst. All were
certified to be in conformity with the Regulations.
Pet Animals Act, 1951.
This Act came into operation on the 1st April, 1952, and is
enforceable by the Council, who authorised the Medical Officer of
Health, the Deputy Medical Officer of Health, and the Sanitary
Inspectors to act on their behalf.
The object of the Act is to regulate the sale of pet animals, with
particular reference to their welfare while kept for sale in pet shops.
A pet shop may not be kept except under the authority of a licence
granted in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The keeping
of a pet shop is defined as the carrying on at premises of any nature
(including a private dwelling and a stall or barrow in a market) of a