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a slight rise over 1929, but the bulk of the increase of population
is due to immigration.
Sanitary Circumstances.— The Housing Act, 1930, marks an
advance on the administrative side, facilitating as it does the rather
cumbersome methods of its predecessors. The demarcation of
areas into Clearance Areas and Improvement Areas is a valuable
provision and should help towards the abolition of slum property
and, what is even more important, the prevention of slums.
Especially with regard to individual unfit houses, the Act should
prove useful. The most difficult housing problem in Croydon is
not the existence of extensive slum areas, but the sub-letting of
houses originally intended for only one family. This is the
great cause of overcrowding. The Act will help a little towards
dealing with this evil, though the powers given to Local Authorities
are not sufficiently wide. It is not, by any means, the landlord
who is always to blame, the tenant is as frequently the offender.
Four thousand seven hundred and six houses were inspected
under the Public Health or Housing Acts, and 1,832 houses were
inspected under house-to-house inspection (Inspection of District
Regulations, 1910). 1,266 houses were built in the Borough
during the year, of which 58 were erected by the Local Authority.
For 3,100 houses notices were served on the owners to remedy
defects found, and 2,540 had been remedied by the end of the
year. Two representations were made for Closing Orders, and
one Order was obtained.
In a total of 4,706 houses inspected, 3.5 per cent, were found
to be overcrowded. This is a reduction on last year's figures,
which points to a gradual amelioration of the position. As there
is no statutory definition of what is meant by "overcrowding,"
the basis of calculation employed was that in use under the local
bye-laws for Common Lodging Houses and Houses Let in Lodgings.
Food Supply.— There is undoubtedly a steady improvement
in the average standard of cleanliness of food premises. The
buying public show welcome signs of taking a closer interest in
this aspect of hygiene. More especially in connection with milk
supply has a strict supervision been exercised. The chemical
standard of milk was, on the whole, satisfactory; 13 samples out
of a total of 386 or 3.3% were found not to come up to the statutory
requirements. On the bacteriological side the results are not so
good. 132 samples fell below the standard of Grade A milk, a