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20
By-Laws as to Houses let-in-lodgings.
At the end of the year 474 houses were registered under these By-laws. Of
these, 232 are in St. Giles and Bloomsbury and 242 in the Holborn District.
There were 861 inspections of these premises, excluding a very large number
of periodical inspections and re-inspections. 238 notices were served for breaches
of the By-laws, in addition to 474 notices that were served for annual cleansing as
required by the By-laws.
Rag and Bone Dealers.
Nineteen inspections of rag and bone shops were made in the year 1932; no
breach was found of the By-laws made by the London County Council for regulating
the conduct of this business.
Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, 1919.
During the year 255 premises were inspected under the above Act, the total
inspections being 368. Two notices for breaches of the Act were served. In both
cases rat proofing was carried out. At the end of the year the two premises were
reported to be clear of infestation.
Where rat catchers are employed under the arrangements made by the Council,
information is given to the Medical Officer of Health by the firms employed
as to the work done and the results, but in many cases these or other firms are
called in apart from the Council's arrangements and information in such cases
may not be given to the local authority.
The question might be thought worthy of consideration whether it would be
advisable and useful if statutory obligation were placed on all persons carrying
out rat repression work to notify the presence of rats to the local authority. In
the absence of a statutory obligation to do so, it would be unreasonable to expect
the contracting firm to notify, as strong objection to such action might be taken
by occupiers. On the other hand, knowledge of the presence of rats in a particular
building might enable the local authority to initiate concerted action by owners of
other property in an infested block and so enhance the prospect of dealing effectually
with the pest. The firms who undertake rat repression work in the Borough
under the arrangements made by the Council have agreed to furnish information
of all their work in the Borough.