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voluntary and Council effort and that it will be adequate in its scope to bring, in due course
to every aged person in the borough the help he needs to secure for him an active, healthy old
age in surroundings of his own choice.
Public Houses.
The survey of licenced premises which commenced in 1948 was continued throughout
1949. Some publicity was given to my report on this subject last year and I would like to
dispel any erroneous impressions that may have been created. By and large the public houses
of this Borough are as good as elsewhere in so far as it is within my power to judge. I can
however, and I do state that they are capable of improvement and I would like to emphasise
that in attempting to secure such improvement I have had the complete and loyal support
and co-operation of the owners of licenced premises. They have been prepared to discuss
improvements on every occasion, and it has been only lack of. labour and materials and the
difficulty in obtaining licences that has prevented them from going even further than the
requirements I could ask for on sanitary grounds. Your Sanitary Inspectors paid 317 visits
during the year. Page 50 of the report sets out in detail the improvements that were effected,
those that are in progress and those promised. The programme is a long term programme and
I have been in contact with officials of the Ministry of Works with a view to securing that the
work be carried out even if it be spread over a period of time. The work indicated on page 50
represents in some cases, major reconstruction work and it has been willingly undertaken.
I am satisfied that the improvements will continue and that the work that unfortunately could
not be done during the war years is not only being made good, but a healthy and up-to-date
outlook is being adopted by those who are responsible.
Housing.
No report on the health of the Borough can ignore the present housing situation. The
last report of the Housing Manager is to the effect that 9,991 families are on the Council's
waiting list. There are about 40,000 families in the borough, and therefore a quarter of them
have requested to be re-housed. Still more unfortunate is the fact that of the families that
have applied, 1,811 have been marked as urgent priority "A" cases. We are concerned that
the total number of family units we are to be allowed to erect during 1950 is approximately 250.
Regularly every morning my post brings me letters setting out pathetic circumstances
under which many of the residents of your Borough are living, and I know, too, that the mail
bag of every Councillor contains similar appeals to my own. I have had referred to me during
the year 1,056 housing applications in order that I might advise as to priority. In 605 cases
I had to recommend that the family was in immediate need of re-housing on grounds of health.
In only 114 cases was I reasonably satisfied that attention to sanitary defects would render
the applicants' present accommodation satisfactory.
In the pages of this report I have set out in more detail some of the reasons which
supported the applicants' request to be re-housed.
Outworkers.
Early in the year I reported to the Public Health Committee that I was concerned as
to the conditions under which outwork was being carried out in the Borough, and I was
authorised to carry out a survey of the situation in conjunction with the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.