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79
Is it possible that any of the other Inspectors in any of the other SubDivisions
of St. Pancras could undertake the Highgate Sub-Division in addition
to his own District? If reference be made to figures of the Annual Reports
for 19015. 1907, and 1908, for the Inspections in the whole of St. Pancras, it
will be seen that the Tenement Houses registered averaged from 2,316 to
2,271, and that of these from 2,369 to 2,592 were inspected during the year,
whereas if they had been inspected in accordance with the resolutions of the
Borough Council there should have been from 4,632 to 4,542 houses inspected.
Similarly the Inscribed Dwellings number 166 to 198, and those inspected
numbered from 93 to 309, the latter figure being in 1906 only; also, closed
Underground Dwellings numbered from 591 to 478 on the register, and of
these 38 to 211 were inspected, instead of being double the number of those
on the register. Taking the Divisions of St. Pancras—East, West, South,
and North separately, it would appear from the Inspections of table 11A of the
Annual Reports during 1906, 1907, and 1908, that the Registered Tenement
Houses and Inscribed Dwellings were only inspected about once instead of
twice during the year. These figures would indicate that the Inspectors in the
other Divisions instead of having time to take up the Highgate Sub-Division
would themselves require some assistance to get through their inspections
twice a year in accordance with the Council's instruction.
As the indication from the statistics is that part of the time of an additional
Inspector is required for Highgate 1 North Sub-Division, the question is how
to provide this Inspector? One method might be the appointment of a
temporary Inspector for part of the year at a smaller salary than a permanent
Inspector. This probationary test would be valuable when, after an interval,
it was desired to re-appoint the temporary Sanitary Inspector as if he were not
satisfactory his appointment would lapse. A second method might be the
appointment of a part time Inspector at a part salary, the rest of the
Inspector's time being taken up by work for and paid by some other Department
of the Borough Council, such as the Town Clerk's, Works, Electricity,
etc., if a part time Officer is required in either of these Departments. A third
method might be the appointment of a permanent whole time Sanitary
Inspector at the recognised salary, one-half or three-quarters of whose time
should be occupied in attending to Sub-Division 1 Highgate North, and the
rest of his time acting as temporary Assistant in turn to the other Inspectors
in completing their inspections of Tenement Houses and Inscribed Dwellings
in their Districts.
It should be brought to the notice of your Committee that during the third
quarter of the year the Inspectors take their holidays, and the stall is
necessarily short in number, so that if it were contemplated to appoint a temporary
Inspector the beginning of the third quarter of the year would be the
best time.
These, in answer to the questions, are the best suggestions that I can supply
for the consideration of your Committer.
Your Council and Public Health Committee have the matter still under
consideration.