View report page

13
Street, 85a Trinity Road, 1 Floss Street, 8 Balham Grove, and at
1 and 3, 9 to 33 and 45 and 47 Byrne Road.
Nine of these basements were vacated by the end of the year,
resulting in the closure of 16 underground rooms.
In addition to the basement flats in Byrne Road for which
Closing Orders were made, eight others were represented as unfit
for habitation, namely, Nos. 35 to 43 and 49 to 53 (odd). In these
cases the owners submitted proposals for carrying out the alterations
required and these undertakings were accepted by the Council, no
Closing Orders being made.
RAT CAMPAIGN.
On the 16th July, 1946, the Council decided to participate in
the Ministry of Food's Private Dwellings Special Scheme, which
called for the systematic treatment by pre-baiting and baiting of
areas in the Borough known to be infested by rats. The Ministry
agreed to contribute 60 per cent. of the cost of the scheme, provided
a charge was made to the occupiers of business premises which came
under treatment as part of an area, and to householders whose
neglect causes infestation.
During the year 1,740 complaints of the presence of rats were
investigated and dealt with by the Council's rat operatives, who made
23,838 visits.
MORTUARY AND CREMATORIUM.
The Mortuary at Wandsworth was used throughout the year,
and 270 bodies were received there.
As Medical Referees under the Crematorium Regulations, 1930,
Dr. MacDonnell and I have authorised 626 cremations, which took
place at the Crematorium at Putney Vale Cemetery.
SUPERVISION OF FOOD.
There are four Inspectors engaged in the supervision of the
food supply.
The number of separate food premises is 2,709 and during
1947 they were inspected on 30,174 occasions.
There are 121 registered dairies and 387 persons registered
to sell milk from premises other than dairies.
The bulk of the milk sold by retail within the Borough is sent
out in bottles filled in properly constructed dairies, and its quality is
good.
794 samples were submitted for analysis. 793 of these were
genuine, with an average fat content of 3.60 per cent.
388 samples of milk were submitted for bacteriological examination,
the phosphatase test, the methylene blue test and the coliform