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4
Clean air
Considerable progress was made in the establishment of smoke
control areas whether through survey or by the making of Orders or in
administrative and technical work necessary for the payment of grant.
More details are given in section B of the report, together with a reference
to the telescoping of the smoke control programme. It is now hoped
that it may be possible to make the last Order affecting the borough in
1965 instead of in 1968 as previously programmed. Various alterations
were made in our scheme for the measurement of atmospheric pollution,
the Borough Council working in as far as possible with the national
survey which is coordinated by the Department of Scientific and
Industrial Research. Details are found in the body of the report, together
with some new charts showing local pollution.
Old people
Three additional clubs applied for grant aid and altogether 19
clubs or organisations were in receipt of grants from the Council. Details
are shown in Section B. The grant is reviewed each year and perhaps
the chief factor in an upward revision is an indication (by the atmosphere
of the club and particularly by the expansion of numbers and existing
facilities and by the institution of new facilities) that the club is increasing
its activities or comfort for its members. The number of old
people on the club registers of the grant-aided clubs was much the same
as during the previous year. An interesting new feature of the work of
the department was the setting up of facilities for the welfare of old
people at premises—The Saville in Lewisham High Street—which
were bought and converted by the Borough Council. At these premises
by the end of the year were three flourishing afternoon clubs, two
morning handicraft classes, and a well-equipped kitchen loaned to
LOPWA for the provision of meals. Day sessions for the handicapped
will be started as soon as transport is available. The special King
Edward Hospital Fund committee mentioned in my last two reports
continued during the year. The detailed survey of a considerable
proportion of the old people of the borough has been completed but
the report is still under consideration.
Home Safety
The Public Health committee have regular reports on home safety
matters, and the quarterly home safety bulletin which is got out by the
department continues to be issued. The ability of London boroughs to
do some home safety work was increased by the Home Safety Act 1961
so that all parts of the country have been given the specific power to
contribute to voluntary organisations doing home safety work in their
areas.
Housing Act 1961
Housing remains a root cause of difficulty and dissatisfaction for a
considerable number of families—whether waiting in the hope of new
premises, or whether merely putting up with substandard and unpleasantly
crowded premises. There is no doubt that many more
houses each year are occupied by two, three or several families, though