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
Finsbury 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
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The information supplied, which it must be remembered does not
embrace all forms of outwork, is of use in that it enables some
supervision of the home circumstances.
A number of Pinsbury firms employing outworkers has fallen during
the last five years from 184 in 1956 to 141 in i960, as has the total
number of outworkers. It should be noted that the term "Outworker"
includes a number of factories which undertake outwork on behalf of
other firms and are inspected as factories,,
The number of actual home workers in Pinsbury has also fallen
from 444 in 1956 to 243 in 1960. The register of outworkers which
firms are required to maintain are inspected as part of the routine,
during the inspection of the factories concerned, and no formal action
has been required in relation to any failure in this matter or in the
transmission of returns.
The following tables set out the detailed information supplied and the official returns:-
| The number of firms employing outworkers in 1960 was | 141 |
| The number of Pinsbury outworkers employed by them was | 217 |
| The number of non Pinsbury outworkers employed by them was | 2,975 |
| The number of Finsbury outworkers employed by firms outside the Borough was. | 112 |
| The total number of Finsbury outworkers employed by firms in or outside the Borough was | 329 |
| (Of these 86 were firms and 243 horaeworkers.) | |
The registers of outworkers which firms are required to maintain
are inspected as part of the routine during the inspection of the
factories concerned.
Number of visits paid to homes - 315.
CLEAN AIR:
There has undoubtedly been a decrease in the degree of Atmospheric
Pollution in London over the past 20 or 30 years, but it remains a
contributory cause of much ill health, structural damage and drabness
in our surroundings,. The condition of the air in Finsbury and its
further pollution from sources within the Borough is probably little
different from that in other parts of the Metropolis.
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