View report page

15
Section 50.
Under this section it is the duty of the borough council to make
arrangements for the burial or cremation of the body of any
person who has died or been found dead in their area and for whom
no suitable arrangements are being made. The council may recover
the cost from the estate, but in many cases the assets are so small
that the cost falls almost entirely upon the rates. Some, however,
die possessed of assets which more than cover the cost of the
funeral, and of these particulars are forwarded to the Treasury
Solicitor. All furniture and personal effects are stored until
authority is obtained for their disposal. The work entailed in making
all the funeral arrangements, in collecting the effects, and claiming
on the insurance policies, is considerable, but, fortunately, the
winter season was mild and the number of bodies was only 70 up
to the end of the year, males 55, females 12 and stillborn 3. Of
these 41 resided outside the district but died in a hospital, an
institution or elsewhere in Lambeth. The cost to the Council was
about £536, which will be reduced when the effects have been
realised. Fortunately, this work has been greatly reduced since the
9th March, 1949, by a Ministry circular which enables the regional
hospital boards and the County Council to arrange for the burials
of the bodies of all persons dying in their hospitals or institutions
which are reasonably straightforward cases; where, however, the
cost of burial is not leadily recoverable from the person liable, the
borough council assume all responsibility for the disposal of the
body and the recovery of the expenditure.
Rat Infestation
During the year 1948, 826 complaints have been investigated.
Of these, 572 were found to be brown (common) rats, 26 black
(ship) rats, 102 mice, and 126 were found to be not justified; 1,130
baitings were carried out, and in 116 cases defective or disused
drains were found to be the cause of infestations and were dealt
with by the Borough Engineer and the Sanitary Inspectors. One
major infestation has been completely cleared after having been
treated for many years by various ratting companies. No other
major infestations have come to light during the year. There has
been a further reduction in the number of black rat infestations,
and in no case has the infestation been of a serious character. This
type of rat is still confined to the northern end of the Borough.
Once again, two separate sewer treatments with poison have been
carried out by the Borough Engineer's department.
The Borough Engineer's staff have continued to be most helpful