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Visits of all kinds to registered premises rose from 3,733 to 4,254. Once again,
many of these were made to premises where infringements had been noted on earlier
inspections. An analysis of infringements found and remedied in the various classes of
premises is recorded in Table D. The total numbers found and remedied were 2,110
and 2,227 respectively compared with 2,450 and 1,374 the previous year.
315 written Notices were sent; by the end of the year 345 such Notices had been
complied with—these included outstanding Notices brought forward from the year
ending 31st December 1966.
As reported in previous years, the majority of occupiers were willing to comply
in general with the requirements of the Act and verbal Notices sufficed in many cases
to bring this about.
Inspections of shop premises were carried out, as in previous years, by the
Public Health Inspectors. Inspections of offices and certain other premises not
affected by food legislation continued to be made by a Senior Public Health Inspector
and four Technical Assistants. The statistical information required to be submitted
annually to the Minister of Labour is reproduced in Tables A, B and C.
Operation of the General Provisions of the Act
Cleanliness (Section 4)
There is still room for improvement in the standards of cleanliness encountered
during inspections. Admittedly there are difficulties to be overcome. Among these
may be mentioned the difficulty of obtaining suitable staff to do the work, high
redecoration costs and it is somewhat surprising to find that few occupiers make use
of commercial vacuum cleaners in their premises.
Overcrowding (Section 5)
Only two instances were reported and by the end of the year had been remedied.
Most occupiers were well aware of their obligations in this respect.
Temperature (Section 6)
Inadequate heating was mainly confined to retail shops where doors were kept
open to attract trade, or continually opened and closed by customers. This has been
overcome in some instances by the installation of down-stream heaters over shop
entrance doors, and it is to be hoped that such installations may become more
widely used. The open-fronted shop presents particular difficulty and to overcome
this, it might be necessary for statutory provision to be made requiring protection
from weather.
Thermometers were often found to be unserviceable or missing. Failure to
provide a thermometer was one of the most commonly encountered contraventions
and in general was quickly remedied.
Ventilation (Section 7)
Difficulties arose from time to time in smaller premises, particularly where
security arrangements made at the insistence of Insurance Companies resulted in
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