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Section 24 relates to Exhibitions, and directs that any Exhibition intended
to be open for more than a month and employ more than 20 persons
shall, as regards provision of intervals for rest and refreshment and
of sanitary accommodation, be under the control of the Secretary
of State.
There seems to be no sufficient reason why Local Authorities should not
control exhibitions as well as shops, and it is difficult to see how
the Secretary of State can safely approve a scheme of sanitary
accommodation without reference to the health authorities for
the district.
The Bill provides that a person guilty of an offence against its provisions
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding, in the case of a first offence, one
pound ; in the case of a second offence, five pounds ; and in the case of a
third or subsequent offence, twenty pounds ; but in the event of a conviction
of a second or subsequent offence within two years of the last conviction for
the same offence, the fine imposed shall be not less than one pound.
In consequence of the dissolution the Home Secretary formally gave notice
of withdrawal, and the fate of this measure is accordingly still undecided.
LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL (GENERAL POWERS) ACT, 1910.
In June of last year the question of the effective control of the conditions
of foodstuffs exposed for sale on barrows and stalls received the consideration
of a Committee of the London County Council with a view to the inclusion
in their next General Powers Act of clauses relating to the subject.
Section 8 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1908,
regulates the sanitary conditions of premises on which food is exposed or
prepared for sale, and premises (such as yards, stables or arches) where food
is stored to be sold by costermongers on barrows can be dealt with under this
Section, but it does not apply to barrows, stalls and other vehicles on which
food is exposed for sale.
Control over their sanitary conditions could be effected if legislation were
obtained enabling Sanitary Authorities to ensure the observance of proper
sanitary regulations in regard to foodstuffs exposed for sale in the streets or
in such other places to which the provisions referred to do not apply.
I reported to the Sanitary Committee the desirability of extending, as far
as possible, the powers already possessed in regard to the control of the food
supplies of the community, and on my recommendation the London County
Council were informed that the Corporation were in favour of the proposed
extension, and that they would be willing to carry into execution any further
powers that might be imposed upon them by such extensions.