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under a delegation agreement until the 1st October, 1966. The present annual cost of refuse disposal
is running at about £180,000.
Public Conveniences.
The Council provide and maintain 19 public conveniences and 7 urinals, the latter
being usually in proximity to licensed premises. Both cexes are catered for in all but two of the
main conveniences and washing facilities are also available. Where facilities are prcvided for
both sexes, male and female staff are employed on a shift system to cover the hours of opening,
normally from 7.30 a.m. until 11.30 p.m. In two instances (in Hammersmith Broadway and at
Shepherds Bush) extended hours are worked to meet exceptional needs.
No charge is made for the use of normal facilities, but wrapped towels are available
at small cost in certain conveniences on request.
All conveniences are subject to at least daily inspection by male and female staff to
ensure the maintenance of high standards of cleanliness at all times. The annual cost to the
Council of staffing and maintaining public conveniences is currently £110,897.
Sewer and Street Gulley Cleansing.
The Council is responsible for the drainage of streets by way of gullies and for the
cleansing as well as the construction and maintenance of sewers so that no public nuisance is
occasioned. This section of the work is carried out under the supervision of the Works Superintendent
but is mentioned as a facet of public cleansing because of the common public health
aspect.
Housing Services
At the beginning of 1965 plans were being developed in the Hammersmith Housing
Service as in all London Boroughs, for the amalgamation of Boroughs which was to come in
April. The new staff structure — to take account of the revised responsibilities — had been
formulated, but staffing problems were to continue for most of the year. Nevertheless, a solid
foundation was laid on which future work could be developed.
One of the major tasks which faced the new Housing Service was to set up a new waiting
list. As the Greater London Council was no longer going to maintain such a list, all families
registered on the old London County Council list were told of this fact, and each was advised
to register with its new London Borough; at the same time, all their papers were transferred to
their new authority. Early in the year all such families, including those registered on the lists
of the then Metropolitan Boroughs of Fulham and Hammersmith, were sent new application forms
and invited to re-register. By this time a new "Points Scheme", by which relative priorities
were to be assessed, had been adopted by the Council for those on the waiting list. This took
account of such matters as overcrowding, shared facilities, ill-health as affected by housing
conditions, and similar factors. All forms which were returned were "Pointed" under this
scheme, and it soon became possible to tell applicants what their position on the list was as
compared with others.
As indicated above, one of the items taken into account under the Points Scheme is illhealth.
Medical evidence of this received in the Housing Office is sent to the Medical Officer of
Health and Welfare for his consideration, and he usually arranges for an inspection of the premises
before making his views known to the Housing Manager. At this inspection any defects there
may be in the premises are noted so that appropriate action may be taken by the Environmental
Health Service.
By the end of the year there were some 5,500 names registered on the waiting list, all
with housing problems of some kind. Many of these problems also involved the social services
under the control of the Medical Officer of Health and Welfare, and close co-operation was established
with the staff concerned. This was essential to ensure that all known details were taken
fully into account by the Housing Manager in assessing the family's position on the list. The
Housing Manager had to make certain that any lettings available for those on the waiting list
and under the control of the Housing Committe were offered to families who, taking all parts
of the Points Scheme into account, had the greatest claim on the Council for help in their
housing problems.
As well as the families on the waiting list, there were also the problems of those already
living in Council dwellings. By the end of the year under review there were between eight
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