View report page

11
Factories Act, 1937.—The sanitary authority is concerned with the
provision and adequacy of sanitary conveniences in power factories.
These and conditions of temperature, ventilation, cleanliness and drainage
in non-power factories. Overcrowding is also its reference in non-power
factories and all conditions of hygiene in workplaces. There are 1,624
power factories, and 1,061 non-power factories, and many hundreds of
workplaces in the City to which in 1948, 5,546 visits were made and
298 notices served for defects or contraventions of the Factories Act.
Bakehouses including underground bakehouses, come under the Factories
Act. No new underground bakehouses are permitted under the Act and
those existing which do not fulfill certain standards of hygiene must be
discontinued. Of the 19 underground bakehouses still in business at the
end of the war, eight called for condemnation under the Act, but the
owners have a right of appeal and can institute such improvements as
must justify such appeal.
In Westminster there are at least 14,000 office premises. These
include banks, shipping and insurance and other commercial offices and
an infinite variety of smaller concerns. At present there is no specific
authority in London for the routine inspection of these premises and the
Gowers Committee took note of this. Inspections are made on the
occurrence of infectious disease, complaints, e.g., overcrowding, and when
alterations are being made to sanitary apparatus and drainage. Some
3,140 visits were made in 1948.
Infectious Disease.—The investigation of cases and measures to prevent
spread of infection remains a duty of the City Council. While the Medical
Officer of Health makes certain personal investigations and is called on
by hospitals and medical practitioners to assist in diagnosis, most of the
visits are paid by Sanitary Inspectors who made 553 special visits of
enquiry to premises of every description, including dwelling houses.
Disinfection under the supervision of a Sanitary Inspector was carried
out in 603 rooms, while 13,663 moveable effects were disinfected at the
Council's Disinfecting Station.
Food and Drugs Act, 1938.—It has already been mentioned there are
some 3,000 catering establishments in the City in addition to some 1,200
shops selling food of every description. Nowhere in the country is there
such a concentration in an area of similar extent. Food sampling and
analysis safeguard the interests of consumers and this has always been
regarded as a highly important duty. In time of shortages the tendency
to exploit substitutes for the commonly accepted article of food and
drink requires careful and patient investigation. Conditions are safeguarded
as far as possible by food and drink standards introduced by
the Ministry of Food by Orders and Regulations made during the war
and since. The labelling of articles laid down by Order is complicated
and often requires tracing back to the wholesaler, consignor and even
to the shipper to find out who was responsible for designating the article
and specifying its contents. In these times the researches imposed on
(8407) a 4