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5
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Borough of Hornsey.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report on the
health of the Borough for the year 1932.
From the health point of view the year has been a remarkably
good one. In spite of continued economic depression, there
has been no evidence of any unusual prevalence of disease.
Throughout the country as a whole the public health problem
which has loomed largest in 1932 is the housing problem or the
"slum problem." State and Church are equally determined
that the slums which disgrace many—indeed most—of the towns
and cities of England should be wiped out within a limited
number of years (within five years, according to Circular 1,331,
dated 6th April, 1933, from the Ministry of Health).
In Hornsey, fortunately, the slum aspect of the housing
problem—the need for demolition and re-housing—is relatively
small and manageable. The five-years' programme submitted
to the Ministry of Health in 1931 under the Housing Act, 1930,
included 86 houses unfit for human habitation. Further
inspections have brought this figure up to 118. Substantial
progress has already been made in dealing with these condemned
houses, and all of them can be disposed of within the period
indicated in the Circular.
There is another aspect of the housing problem which
presents much greater difficulty in Hornsey—the problem created
by good houses being divided into flats, or groups of rooms, or
even single rooms, for occupation by separate families. This
process is proceeding apace in every part of suburban London.
The resulting overcrowding in some houses and the increased
density of population in the areas affected are factors which
may influence the prevalence of certain infectious diseases and
their complications.
The sanitary inspectors have given this matter constant
attention throughout the year in their respective districts of the
Borough. The health department, in conjunction with the