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TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF ISLINGTON
I have the honour to present my 24th Annual Report which is also the final
Report for the Metropolitan Borough of Islington.
It was inevitable that 1964, and particularly the latter half of the year,
should have been very much taken up with the forthcoming changes consequent upon
the implementation on 1st April 1965 of the London Government Act 1963. Nevertheless,
every effort was made to ensure that major administrative and staff changes
and problems arising caused minimal interference with all the services that the
public rightly expected to continue to receive. In fact, additional functions and
responsibilities were placed on the metropolitan borough as an environmental health
authority during the year.
The total number of births, although a little higher than last year at 5,795,
has been steadily held around this figure for the past three years and the birthrate
continued to be substantially higher than the corresponding rate for England
and Wales. The vital statistics for 1964 showed gratifying features in some respects:
in particular, there was a substantial reduction in the number of deaths from
bronchitis which were the lowest on record due to this cause. If this reduction is
linked with a reduction in atmospheric pollution, it will be a matter of considerable
interest and importance to-follow the trends in future years. 1964 was also marked by
maintaining the lowest recorded death rate for lung tuberculosis as in 1963.
Due to the coming into force in the latter part of 1963 of more stringent
regulations dealing with smallpox surveillance for any person coming from a suspect
area abroad, there was increased follow-up visiting. There was no single reported
case either of poliomyelitis or diphtheria and only 231 cases of dysentery were
reported against nearly 1,400 in 1963.
The body of the Report contains details of three confirmed cases of typhoid
fever, (none of which incidentally was connected with the Aberdeen outbreak), and
also mentions precautionary measures taken by the department at the time of the
occurrence.
The Report mentions the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963, which
came into operation during the year as the most considerable and major piece of
public health legislation for some time. Additional staff had to be engaged to
enable the Council to carry out its duties under this Act. It was apparent from
information obtained at an early stage that the Act should prove beneficial and
obviously desirable. Even though the Act has been in force for a relatively short
time, considerable improvements have been effected under it in the matter of safety
precautions for working staff and general improvement in working conditions and
installation of amenities.
A duty mentioned in the Report which has proved most useful in practice has
been the periodic all-night visiting carried out by two inspectors. This has
enabled noise complaints, for example, to be investigated and dealt with when the
noise nuisance could be at its maximum. Night supervision in connection with food
handling has also proved most useful. As a matter of some historic interest,
abattoirs sited for over a century at the Metropolitan Cattle Market were closed
and associated offensive trades transferred to premises outside the borough.