View report page

GENERAL PUBLIC HEALTH
Housing
during the year 9,234 houses and flats were erected by the Council and the Metropolitan
Borough Councils. Of these 7,906 were in London (3,427 erected by the Council and
4,479 by the Borough Councils) and the remainder (1,328) were erected by the Council
outside the County. At the end of the year the total number of permanent dwellings
erected or acquired by the Council for housing purposes was 175,807 (an increase in the
year of 4,545) of which 87,431 were situated in London and 88,376 outside the County.
In addition there were 7,260 temporary pre-fabricated bungalows erected by the
Ministry of Works but managed by the Council.
During the year the Housing Committee undertook a comprehensive survey of the
housing situation. This was done to assess the extent to which future housing commitments
could be met, having regard to the scarcity of land available for building houses
and the demand for rehousing accommodation arising from slum clearance operations
and other redevelopments.
Preferential
housing
As a result of this review, revised arrangements were introduced for allocating the
accommodation likely to become available over the next three years for applicants on
the waiting list and for dealing preferentially with families recommended for rehousing
on health grounds. So far as preferential rehousing was concerned, provision was made
for the setting aside of a limited number of houses each year for families containing
tuberculous persons recommended by chest physicians for urgent rehousing and for
applicants suffering from very serious medical conditions aggravated by housing
circumstances.
The very restricted number of houses available each year for preferential allocation
made it necessary to discontinue the acceptance of medical certificates in support of
housing applications submitted by applicants themselves. Only those applicants
personally recommended by family or hospital doctors as being in urgent need of
improved housing conditions can be considered. At the end of the year a letter was
sent to all general practitioners and hospitals explaining the reason for the changed
procedure and seeking co-operation in ensuring that recommendations should be made
only in respect of those families whose need for rehousing was exceptionally and vitally
urgent so that unnecessary disappointment might be avoided.
Divisional medical officers are responsible for reviewing recommendations received
under the revised arrangements and for selecting those which they feel merit special
consideration, the final choice being undertaken by a senior member of the central
medical staff.
Before the introduction of the new scheme in November, 1956, divisional medical
officers continued as in previous years to assess the merits of medical certificates submitted
by applicants seeking preference on health grounds and to enable fair decisions to be
reached many enquiries were made to medical officers of health of metropolitan
boroughs and out-county authorities, of family doctors, and of the staffs of hospitals.
The assistance thus afforded is again gratefully acknowledged. Of the 19,088 applications
considered, 4 per cent. were recommended for special preference to reduce the danger
of infection arising from active pulmonary tuberculosis, 20 per cent. were classified as
'most urgent' on other health grounds and 39 per cent. as less urgent but justifying
preference for health reasons. In the remaining 37 per cent. it was decided that the degree
of urgency disclosed by doctors' certificates did not warrant additional preference.
Slum
clearance
Work on the survey of areas included in the slum clearance programme for the
five years 1956 -60 proceeded throughout the year.
Representations under section 25 of the Housing Act, 1936, were made in respect of
68 areas containing 3,345 houses and preliminary surveys were completed in respect of
a further 111 areas containing 3,255 unfit houses.
38