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42
The London County Council (General Powers) Act of 1907,
S. 36, gives statutory power to the County Medical Officer or
any other person authorised by him to examine the person and
clothing of any child attending any School provided or maintained
by the Council, in order to ascertain whether the person or
clothing is infested with vermin or is in a foul or filthy condition,
and further proceeds to require the parent or person in charge
to cleanse the person or clothing of the child within 24 hours of
a notice to that effect. In default of compliance the Medical
Officer is empowered to remove the child from the School and
have it and its clothing properly cleansed in suitable premises
and with suitable appliances, power of detention until this has
been effected being given. The next section of the same Act
enables lodging-house inmates to be dealt with in a similar manner.
The premises at Grove Road will be immediately available
for any cases of this description, for not only can men and women
be dealt with separately, but children can readily be kept away
from undesirable adults.
If it be the intention of the County Council to apply these
sections to a verminous condition of the hair it may reasonably
be anticipated that a considerable amount of work and
responsibility will be imposed upon those Borough Councils
which afford facilities to the County in the enforcement of the
provision, for such conditions, in most cases, require several
consecutive days attention and not infrequently the ruthless
employment of scissors. Whether the words " properly cleansed "
would justify the removal of hair in the absence of parental
consent is open to considerable doubt.
Work of a similar nature to that proposed has been carried
out in this Borough for some time.
It is hoped that the action of the County Council will have
the effect of causing other Borough Councils to provide facilities
for cleansing, and thus relieve Marylebone of the necessity of
doing the work gratuitously for them, as is bound to be the case
to some extent at present.
27, Grove Road, N.W.
January, 1908.
To the Medical Officer of Health.
Sir,
I beg to submit the following Report of works for the year
ending December 31st, 1907 :—
The Shelter.
The shelter was used 17 days, accommodating for various
periods 17 adults and 10 children.