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 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
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Outworkers
Many firms arrange for some work to be undertaken as outwork either
under contract by other factories or by homeworkers and in order to
check the spread of vermin or infectious disease information as to
such outwork must be supplied in relation to certain classes or work.
Because smallpox and scarlet fever the two diseases considered most
likely to spread in this way are no longer of serious concern, and
verminous premises only infrequently discovered the supervision of
outwork has become of less importance than heretofore,and no formal
action has been required in any case formany years though occasionally
by arrangement with the firms concerned, a few articles which might
have been in contact with infectious diseases have been disinfected or
destroyed.
| Nature of Work | Section 110 | Scction 111 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of outworkers in August list required by Sect. 110 (i)(c) | No.of cases of default in sending lists to the Council | No. of prosecut-ions for failure to supply lists | No. of instances of work in unwhole-some premises | Notices served | Prosecutions | ||
| Wearing apparel Making etc. | 1147 | - | - | ||||
| Household linen | - | - | - | - | |||
| Umbrellas etc. | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Artificial flowers | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| The making of boxes or other receptacles or parts thereof made wholly or partially of paper | 39 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Brush making | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Feather sorting | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Carding etc. of buttons etc. | 54 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Cosaques. Christmas Crackers, Christmas Stockings etc. | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Lampshades | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 1316 | - | - | - | - | - | |
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.
The following tables set out the detailed information supplied
in the official returns
The number of firms employing outworkers in 1963 was 107
The number of Pinsbury outworkers employed by them was 166
The number of non-Finsbury outworkers employed by them was 2,790
48.