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RAG FLOCK AND OTHER FILLING MATERIALS
The purpose of the Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Act, 1951, and the
Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Regulations, 1961 and 1965, is to secure
the use of clean filling materials in upholstered articles and other articles which are
stuffed or lined.
Local authorities are required to register premises where filling materials are
used for upholstering, the stuffing or lining of bedding, toys or baby carriages, other
than upholstering (etc.) in the remaking or reconditioning of any article, or in connection
with railway carriages, road vehicles, ships or aircraft.
At the end of the year, 23 premises were registered to use filling materials
and one was registered to store rag flock. All were visited and conditions were
satisfactory.
OFFENSIVE TRADES
Section 107 of the Public Health Act, 1936, defines a list of "offensive trades",
which can only be established with the consent of a local authority. In addition to
the trades listed, a local authority, by Order confirmed by the Minister, may declare
other trades offensive. The business of a dealer in butcher's wastes was so declared
an offensive trade and is the only such premises in the Borough. During the year,
17 visits were paid to this establishment and conditions were found to be satisfactory.
INSPECTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
The work of the public health inspectors encompasses a widening field, and the
principles upon which good environmental hygiene is built remain the same; pure
water, clean food, clean air, adequate shelter and the removal of conditions inimical
to healthy surroundings. The achievement of these desiderata is the aim of the
department. In pursuit of this objective, a total of 43,426 visits were made to
houses, business and industrial premises and places in which food is handled.
Arising from these visits, numerous defects and short-comings were found. In
consequence, 265 informal and 311 statutory notices were served, resulting in repairs
and sanitary improvements being carried out; in no case was it necessary for the
Council to take legal proceedings or carry out work in default of owners.
There is a diversified range of matters upon which people seek advice or
assistance and 7,035 such requests and complaints were received. There were 880
blocked or defective drains notified, and this large number is no doubt due
to the widely known fact that a skilled service is available which is free of charge.
This service is of great benefit to owners who experience difficulty in obtaining trade
labour at short notice to deal with the considerable nuisance which arises from
obstructed drains.
Reference is made elsewhere in the Report to the number of requests for the
destruction of wasps' nests and complaints of infestations of rats and mice.
(Statistical Tables 46, 47—see pages 137, 138).
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