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29
of adequate premises, even without the added responsibilities of providing the health
centres which were intended to be a key feature of the National Health Service.
Few of the buildings transferred to the Council on the "appointed day" were
freehold premises or even held on long leases, and the premises were mainly
improvised. An additional difficulty that had to be faced was that many of the
specially designed centres served functions that became the responsibility of the
Council on the one hand and the Regional Hospital Boards on the other, while in a
few instances the Borough Council still retained a residual interest in the buildings.
These buildings became subject to "apportionment" between the various claimants,
and negotiations to solve the complex questions involved in their future ownership
and administration were still proceeding at the end of the year.
The physical basis of the day nursery service proved to be even more insecure
than the maternity and child welfare branches of the service. The majority of the
day nurseries had been set up in haste during the war in requisitioned buildings or
in prefabricated buildings erected on various sites, many of which were earmarked
for other services such as housing and education. As programmes for these services
gathered momentum the sites on which a number of the day nurseries were situated
were required to be released for permanent development.
The difficulties involved in continuing the service with the premises which were
transferred to the Council are illustrated by the following table in which the high
proportion of rented premises (short-term tenancies) and requisitioned premises will
be noted:

An analysis of the distribution of the premises transferred to the Council showed
that certain areas would not be adequately served either by maternity and child
welfare centres or day nurseries, and the Council expressed in its proposals to the
Minister of Health under Section 22 of the Act, the intention to erect within the first
few years of the National Health Service fourteen maternity and child welfare centres
and thirty-five day nurseries. Of the thirty-five day nurseries proposed, no fewer
than twenty-seven were required to replace existing ones which would have to be
removed from their nresent sites.
Short-term
plan
Adequate maintenance of buildings had not been possible during the war, some
had suffered war damage and arrears of maintenance had not been made good in all
cases before the "appointed day." A comprehensive survey was made, which
included the Council's school treatment centres which were in a similar state, and
schedules of cleaning and painting, repairs and minor improvements were drawn up.
Provision has been made in the estimates for 1949/50 for the following expenditure
to be incurred to carry out the major portion of this rehabilitation programme:—
£
Maternity and child welfare centres 36,060
Day nurseries 45,870
School treatment centres 24,650
£106,580
Repairs and
redecorations