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Schools.—In addition to the large number of academic institutions
in Westminster there are 29 elementary and 5 secondary schools cither
wholly or partly under the control and management of the London County
Council.
There is every reason to believe that with the continuously falling
birth rate, now a pronounced feature in Westminster, less school accommodation
will be required for Westminster children. If economic conditions
improve, further attention will no doubt be given to some of the
older schools by the responsible authorities. The City Council is not an
education authority, although some of its members are also school
managers. Some of the older schools are somewhat out of date, gloomy
perhaps both within and without, and do not provide ideal surroundings
for the cultivation of knowledge.
As regards infectious disease in schools, there is close contact between
the officers of the Sanitary Authority and those of the Education Authority.
The former bring at once to the notice of the latter anything in the nature
of even a minor outbreak at a school which the School Medical Officers can
investigate at the earliest opportunity.
The Council's Sanitary Inspectors are required to visit schools to
inform head teachers personally after inspecting homes from which school
clrldren, suffering from notifiable infectious disease, have been removed
to hospital, and also to acquaint the teachers as to home contacts attending
the same school. This is in addition to the written intimation from
the Medical Officer of Health to the head teacher as required by law.
Other Sanitary Conditions requiring Notice.
Fouling of Footicays by Dogs—By-law.—Eleven cases of infringement
of the by-law were reported to the Council by the Commissioner of Police.
Summonses were issued against all of the offenders. Convictions
were obtained in seven cases, two were dismissed on payment of 5s. costs,
and in two others the summonses were not served, the defendants having
left the addresses given.
The penalties inflicted varied from 2s. 6d. to 20s. and totalled £3 10s.6d.
Rat Repression.—During the year 171 complaints were received and
investigated, and 317 premises were inspected by the Sanitary Inspectors.
The Council's rat officer visited 75 premises for the purpose of investigation
and to advise owners and occupiers as to the steps to be taken to
rid premises of rats and to instruct them in measures of rat proofing.
He paid altogether 312 visits to these premises,