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163
they came in from school and were kept at it until 9 or 10 o'clock at
night. In one case a boy recovering from a recent illness was sitting
up in bed at work, and the wrapping was being done on the bed.
The Islington Borough Council brought these facts to the knowledge
of the Secretary of State, and our own Town Clerk also wrote to
inquire whether any Order had been made by the Secretary of State
applying the provisions of Section 107 of the Factory and Workshops
Act of 1901, to caramel wrapping. We were informed in December
last that the Secretary of State proposes to make such an Order.
The effect of this will be that the names and addresses of all those
who do this work in their homes and return it to the factory owners,
will have to be supplied to the Health Authority twice a. year, and
the conditions of the home-work can then be inspected and supervised
byus.
As the result of the inspection of the workrooms and work-places
in the Borough, it was found that for the most part they were in a
satisfactory condition, and that the requirements of the Factory and
Workshops Act of 1901 were duly observed. There was no case of
overcrowding to be dealt with, and there were 16 instances in which
it was necessary to require cleansing. There were four occasions to
require an increase in the water-closet accommodation, and 36 in
which the accommodation was unsuitable or defective. In six cases
the Abstract of the Factory Act was not affixed in the workrooms, and
the Home Office was notified accordingly. There are altogether
about 750 domestic workrooms in the Borough in which textile
material of various kinds is being dealt with.
A complete list of all out-workers has been kept in the office ;
the information has often been obtained by calling at the workshops,
for some employers still fail to realise their duty to send in a list of
out-workers twice a vear, viz., in February and August, as the Act
directs. All the premises occupied by out-workers were inspected
during the year.