London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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London County Council 1898

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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85
The sufficiency of the existing sanitary administration in St. Pancras was also under the consideration
of the Public Health Committee of the Council upon a report by Dr. Hamer, who had,
under the instruction of the Committee, inspected the district (see Appendix VII.). Dr. Hamer came to
the conclusion that the staff of sanitary inspectors was insufficient for the requirements of the
district. After communication with the vestry, the Council in 1899 resolved to bring the matter
before the Local Government Board by a representation under section 107 of the Public Health
(London) Act.
Transfer of Powers.
On the report of the Local Government and Taxation Committee the Council had under
consideration the question whether certain powers in relation to public health hitherto exercised by
the Council should be transferred to sanitary authorities. The resolutions of the Council were as
follows—
That the powers of the Council under section 19 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, to declare
a business to be an offensive business, and to refuse sanction to an offensive business being established
anew, be not transferred to the local authorities.
That the power of the Council under section 20 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, to license
annually all slaughterhouses, knackers' yards and cowhouses, be not transferred to the local authorities.
That the local authorities should be made responsible by the legislature for inspecting and
registering slaughterhouses, knackers' yards, offensive businesses, cowhouses, dairies, milkshops and
milkstores, and enforcing the by-laws or regulations made by the Council; and that the Council should
retain the power to make by-laws or regulations in respect of all these matters, and should have power
to act in default of a local authority, as under section 100 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, the
necessary powers of inspection being retained for these purposes.
That concurrent powers be vested in the local authorities to apply to the Local Government Board
to alter the regulations of the water companies.
That the power of the Council to register and inspect all common lodging-houses, and regulate
management accommodation and sanitary condition be not at present transferred to the local authorities.
The Council also resolved that district authorities should be empowered to adopt Part III. of the
Housing of the Working Classes Act.
Medical Officers of Health and Sanitary Inspectors.
The Public Health (London) Act, 1891, requires that the Council shall pay a moiety of the
salary of every medical officer of health and sanitary inspector appointed or re-appointed after the
passing of the Act. Up to the time of this report going to press, 44 medical officers of health and
232 sanitary inspectors had been thus appointed or re-appointed.

The following table indicates those London districts in which the medical officer of health has been elected in accordance with the above requirement of the Public Health (London) Act—

BatterseaLee (Eltham)St. Luke
Bethnal-greenLimehouseSt. Martin-in-the-Fields
CamberwellMile-end Old-townSt. Marylebone
ChelseaNewingtonSt. Olave
CityPaddingtonSt. Pancras
ClerkenwellPlumsteadSt. Saviour, Southwark
FulhamPoplar (Bow)Shoreditch
HackneyPoplar (Bromley and Poplar)Stoke Newington
HammersmithRotherhitheStrand
HolbornSt. George-in-the-EastWandsworth (Wandsworth)
IslingtonSt. George, SouthwarkWestminster
KensingtonSt. GilesWoolwich
LambethSt. James, Westminster

Sanitary districts mentioned in Schedule C of the Metropolis Local Management Act, 1855.
St. Peter, Westminster close of the Inner Temple
Collegiate Church) Middle Temple
Gray's-inn Furnival's-inn, Staple-inn and
Lincoln'e-inn Liberty of the Charterhouse
During 1898, Dr. Young made enquiry in the several sanitary districts as to the staffs employed
therein in connection with the sanitary duties of the district authorities. His report, which is appended
(see Appendix VIII.), showed that the number of sanitary inspectors employed bj" these authorities
had increased from 228 in 1895 to 256 in 1898.

The following table shows the months in which the annual reports of the medical officers of health of London districts for the year 1898 were received by the Council—

February, 18992July, 18996
March „5August ,,2
April „5September ,,4
May „10October „4
June ,,14

Shiklf.y f. Murphy,
Medical Officer of Health.
6th December, 1899.
To the London County Council.