View report page

78
Outworkers.— The total number of lists received during the year
amounted to 1,056.
Notices in respect of failure to send lists were sent to 76 firms. No
legal proceedings were necessary in respect of this offence.
The lists contained 9,942 names and addresses, of which 6,042 were
in other districts, 5,109 being within the Metropolitan area and 602 in the
London Suburban Districts.
The number of individual outworkers in the City at the close of the
year was 1,613, of whom 1,506 were registered as occupying workshops.
The number of premises in which outwork was being carried on was 757.
Smoke Abatement.— The following table shows the extent to which
smoke has been a cause of complaint to the sanitary authority during
the past five years, and also a summary of the measures taken in
mitigation:—

Smoke Abatement By-law.— The By-law to which reference was made
last year was submitted in draft to all local authorities in London by
the London County Council and having been confirmed by the Minister
of Health came into force on 19th May, 1931. Black smoke issuing from
any one chimney of a building other than a private dwelling house for
a period of 3 minutes in the aggregate, within any continuous period
of 30 minutes, shall be presumed to be a nuisance, unless the contrary
is proved, liable to be dealt with summarily under the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891. After a period of 5 years has elapsed it is hoped
that the conditions in industry will have assumed a more prosperous
aspect and that firms will be able so to improve plant that the period
of two minutes which was originally intended can be equitably imposed.
Greater London Joint Smoke Abatement Committee.—This Committee
continued its meetings throughout the year. Your Medical Officer of
Health, as a representative of the Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint
Committee, attended on most occasions.