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2
H(l).
Public Health Department,
Council Offices,
Erith.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Erith Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit to you the Annual Report
on the health of Erith for the year ended 31st December, 1936.
The Registrar General's Statistical Figures, a summary of
which will be found on page 6, show that our population has
now reached 36,380, and from the number of houses still
being erected this increase is likely to be maintained.
These statistics confirm other evidence we have of the
steady expansion of the District, and the consequent necessity
for expansion of services.
During the year it was necessary to augment the refuse
collection service by the purchase of a new 12 yard refuse
vehicle. The need for extended School Medical and Maternity
and Child Welfare Services found expression in the construction
of a new Clinic at Bedonwell Hill, which at the time of writing
is nearing completion. Extensions of arrangements in the
several branches of my Department were effected.
New legislation recently introduced by Parliament, particularly
the Housing Act, 1936, has thrown additional duties
and responsibilities on this Department. Details of the
Housing situation in the District will be found in the body of
the report. With regard to the apparent satisfactoriness of
the position regarding overcrowding, in the District, it is well
to remember that the standard of overcrowding laid down in
the Act was a very low one, for the reason we are told, that
it was thought that a higher standard might not have been
workable. It may be that, as overcrowding is abated and conditions
improve, a higher standard will be introduced.