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In this same year, the Home Office asked for special returns as to the Industrial
Employment of Women, before and after child-birth, with the view of considering the
advisability of introducing further legislation, restricting the employment of married
women. Exhaustive enquiries were made with regard to births taking place in the
City, and the results were tabulated on forms provided by the Home Office. This
enquiry extended over a period of two years.
The number of factories and workships on the Register continued to increase, and
in view of this fact, and of the additional duties imposed on your Women Inspectors
by the Notification of Births Act and the Home Office enquiry, it was found
necessary to increase the staff, and a third Woman Inspector was appointed in
June, 1908.
Under the Children Act, 1908, your Women Inspectors were appointed to carry
out the provisions dealing with Infant Life Protection.
No special features marked the years 1909-1910, the usual routine inspection and
re-inspection of the various workplaces previously enumerated were carried out, also
the work under the Notification of Births Act. The Home Office enquiry was
completed early in 1910, and the resulting information was supplied to the UnderSecretary
of State for the Home Department.
During 1911, the following number of inspections and re-inspections have been
made:—
Inspections. Re-Inspections. Total.
Factories 680 14 694
Workshops 1,737 118 1,855
Domestic Workshops 35 — 35
Workplaces (Kitchens) 145 132 277
Offices 150 22 172
Outworkers' premises 83 — 83
Total - 2,830 286 3,116
The number of women employed in the above premises is 21,260.
The defects found may be classified as follows:—
Sanitary accommodation dirty or defective 327
„ „ insufficient 12
„ „ not kept separate 28
367
Walls and ceilings dirty 144
Ventilation insufficient 27
Workshops overcrowded 9
General defects 87
Total 634
Defects found in premises where both men and women are employed, and also
defects involving structural or drainage work, are referred to the Workshop and
District Inspectors in order to avoid overlapping.
In addition to the above list of Inspections, the Ladies' Waiting Rooms at Railway
Stations and the Underground Conveniences for Women have been inspected, and the
work under the Notification of Births Act has been carried out. All complaints