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Improvement of houses by grant aid
In an attempt to encourage owners to provide bathrooms, hot water services and other
amenities in sub-standard houses not likely to be included in development schemes, the
Government in 1949 introduced the improvement grant provisions. These gave the Council
powers, concurrent with the borough councils, to make grants, which it has exercised only
where borough councils have been unwilling to do so or the Council is offering mortgage
facilities. In the whole period up to the end of this year, 3,211 properties have been surveyed
and 277 discretionary grants and 90 standard grants to the value of £596,102 have been
made by the Council.
I960 1961 1962 1963 1964
Improvement grants
Surveys following applications to the Council 1,178 309 342 447 367
Searches following applications to metropolitan
borough councils 572 595 576 930 1,091
Hostels
Surveys following application to the Council for
loan
Premises - - - 5 5
Units of accommodation - - - 311 278
Housing loans*
Searches following application to the Council for
loan - - - 2,459 2,790
Surveys following application to the Council for
loan - - - 229 155
* This additional work commenced during 1963 when the Council introduced a more extensive scheme for making
loans to intending house purchasers.

Milk sampling
Since 1908 the Council has arranged for samples of milk arriving in London by road and
rail to be tested for the presence of tubercle bacilli. In 1959 it was decided that, as milk
was received principally from tuberculosis eradication areas, sampling should be concentrated
mainly in unpasteurised tuberculin tested milk bottled on the farm. Some 50 to
70 samples a year were taken. Any positive samples were reported to the medical officer
of health of the district in which the milk was produced for him to take follow-up action.

* Samples from a residential school which has its own farm.
† In addition the test was not completed on two samples.
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c*