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workshop supervision.
WORKSHOP SUPERVISION.
This subject is dealt with in pursuance of Section 132 of the Factory and Workshop Act,
1901, which requires the Medical Officer of Health to "report specifically" on the
adminstration of the Act within his district. The Home Office issues a memorandum on the
subjects to be included in such report. In addition to the tables prepared by the Department,
which are included in the text, a special form is required by the Home Office, which will
be found in Appendix A. (Table VIII).
Registration.—To the Registers of the Department, which contained 1,436 premises at the
close of 1907, there were added 173 premises during 1908, and 77 premises were removed,
leaving 1,532 effective entries at the close of last year. The premises then on the Registers,,
included 143 factories, 885 workshops, 25 domestic workshops, 69 workplaces, and 410
premises occupied by "single workers," 250 of the last being included in the Register of Outworkers'
premises. Table 37 gives an analysis of the businesses, and an approximation of the
numbers of employees, the figures relating to homeworkers are shown in parentheses.
The Home Office forwarded to the Department 32 notices relating to the opening of
new workshops, the majority of which had, however, been previously inspected by the Staff
of the Department.
Home Work.—Employers of homeworkers (outworkers) forwarded 83 lists in February
and 67 in August of last year, making a total of 150, as compared with 101 in 1907, and 76
in 1906. The addresses included in the returns numbered 580, of which 298 had to be
forwarded to other districts in accordance with the Art.

Note.—Figures in parentheses are the numbers for 1907.
At the close of the year the Register contained 349 effective entries, a nett increase of
24 above the number for 1907, comprising:—
Workshops, 99 ; "Single" workers, 250.
Inspections.—The supervision of workshops has rested almost entirely with Inspector
Wansbrough, the time of the Women Inspectors having been fully occupied with visits and
inspections with reference to sickness among children. The inspections of workshops made
during the year numbered 1,583, as compared with 2,287 in 1907. The principal results of
the inspections are set out in Table 38. Notices are required but infrequently, a verbal
request to set matters right being usually sufficient.
Complaints.—The Home Office forwarded 11 complaints during the year (see below), two
more than in 1906, but one less than in 1905.
Home Office Complaints—
Dirty conditions Other matters 3
Overcrowding