View report page

14
Offices.
There are some 3,364 office buildings in the Borough. The Offices Act, 1960, is due to come into
operation on the 1st January, 1962, and further legislation is also anticipated.
As an exploratory measure, seventy-two offices were inspected during the year. One defect
commonly found was lack of through ventilation. This appears to be due to the practice of letting
office accommodation in terms of space. The occupier moves in and erects partitions, from floor to
ceiling, to form individual offices within the space. The partitioning prevents air movement and
results in the formation of pockets of humid vitiated air with excess humidity which is most certainly
not in the interests of either the well-being or the efficiency of the occupants.
Shops.
There are 2,472 shops in the Borough to which regular visits were made and in respect of which
six notices were served.
Ventilation is often a problem in shops and it is felt that shop-fitters should pay more attention to
adequate free air movement when designing shop fronts and interiors. Conversely, complaints have
been received of too much ventilation via open doors which during the winter leads to unreasonably
low temperatures. Some shopkeepers apparently insist that an open door invites custom and their
doors are kept open even during the coldest weather. The Shops Act requires that a " reasonable
temperature " shall be maintained but, unlike the Factories Acts, does not give any standard. It
therefore becomes a matter of hard bargaining with the shopkeeper to reach agreement on how best
a reasonable temperature can be maintained despite an open door. The usual solution is to provide
heaters where staff can warm themselves at intervals between serving customers.
Factories.
There were 1,918 factories on the register at the end of the year, 56 less than last year. A report
on the administration by the Department of matters under Parts I and VIII of the Factories Acts,
1937-1959, is given in Tables 17 and 18, page 37.
Outworkers.
Sixty-eight employers submitted lists in respect of a total of 704 outworkers (169 contractors and
535 workpeople). Of these, thirty-six contractors and seventeen workpeople operated in the Borough.
The nature of the different classes of work and the numbers of outworkers engaged is indicated in
Table 19, page 37.
Fireguards.
Regular inspections were made under the provision of the Heating Appliances (Fireguards) Act,
1952, and in nineteen instances heaters were found which failed to comply with the requirements.
The main fault was inadequate guards and in each case the vendors withdrew appliances from sale
or fitted new guards and sought approval before again displaying for sale. No legal proceedings were
necessary.
It is again to be noted that auctioneers can still legally sell heating appliances which do not comply
with the Regulations provided that they act on behalf of private individuals and not as agents for
someone whose normal business is the selling of heating appliances. This loophole in the Act leads to
administrative difficulties and in some degree defeats the aim of legislation designed to safeguard
the users of these appliances from accidents.
Hairdressers and Barbers.
The Council's Byelaws regulating these establishments came into operation on 18th December,
1955. There are in the Borough 146 registered hairdressers and barbers ; 148 inspections were made
and conditions generally were found to be satisfactory.
Pet Shops.
The Pet Animals Act, 1951, provides for a system of inspection and annual licensing of pet shops
by local authorities, a fee of 10s. being payable for each licence, eleven of which were issued during
the year. A few of the licensees keep puppies and other mammals for sale but mostly they deal in
cage birds, goldfish and tropical fish. The premises concerned were kept under observation by the
public health inspectors who made 18 visits and inspected weekly the stalls licensed to sell pets in
the street markets. Conditions under which the livestock was kept were reported as satisfactory.