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bronchus, which surely brings forcibly home to us the alarming
problem of lung cancer and its related causes, upon which so many
authoritative pronouncements have recently been made.
At the end of the year information was received of the diagnosis
of a case of smallpox in the London area, and subsequent weeks
were spent in dealing with contacts of cases by vaccination and
surveillance, but no case developed in the Borough.
There was a very great demand for vaccination from the public
generally, but it was not considered necessary nor desirable in the
circumstances to arrange public vaccination clinics.
It is hoped that this timely reminder will encourage parents
to ensure that children are vaccinated against smallpox in infancy
as this is the most suitable and desirable time for primary vaccination
which can safely be followed in an emergency by re-vaccination if
circumstances warrant it.
I have been stressing for many years the need for greater
acceptance by parents of the facilities available for vaccination, and
in addition, as long ago as 1950, I referred in my Annual Report to
the fact that I considered a case could be made for greater powers to
deal with the control of smallpox contacts, and also greater powers
to ensure the possession of a valid vaccination certificate from
persons entering this country from infected areas.
The vital statistics of the Borough will be seen to compare
favourably with those for England and Wales and no special aspect
requires to be mentioned.
Unauthorised parking of caravans created considerable concern
during the year and much time and effort was expended in dealing
with this ever-recurring problem. The question of private caravan
sites and the possibility of a municipally controlled site have also
received careful consideration and some progress was made.
This leads me to the question of satisfactory housing conditions
which are essential for the health and well-being of the community.
During the year over one hundred houses were reported by
me to be unfit for human habitation. Although one may consider
the problem of unfit houses to be relatively small in Enfield when
compared with many other areas, nevertheless, continuous effort
must continue to be made in this direction because it is not a static
problem.
The programme of clearance of unfit houses for the five years
ended December, 1960, was not quite achieved, and the programme
submitted for the following five years, containing over four hundred
houses, will create problems of rehousing, but the Council hopes to