London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Haringey 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Haringey]
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occupation of houses of this type. Alternatively, of course, an increase in the staff allocated to these duties at
present would enable what are considered to be the worst areas of multiple occupation to be dealt with on a
house to house basis, instead of having to give priority to notifications received from, what may well be, the better
type of house occupied in this way which had been notified voluntarily under a scheme of registration.
The staff situation did not improve during the last year. One Public Health Inspector had to retire before the
anticipated time, due to a prolonged period of ill health and another, who only joined the section during the latter
part of the year, obtained a position elsewhere and has resigned. The net result was that the section was below
strength for a considerable part of the year and only able to be allocated the services of one of the Public Health
Inspectors who were appointed during the year, these appointments being mainly from our own students who
qualified as inspectors during 1970, few suitable applicants having applied to join the Council's service.
The Haringey Corporation Act 1971 passed through all its stages during the year and became law on 27 July 1971.
So far as is known, Haringey were the only authority to acquire the power to deal expeditiously with premises
where the supply of gas or electricity had been withdrawn due to some act or omission of the owner (i.e. failure to
pay his account, or to have essential repairs carried out to a gas or electricity installation where, because these
had not been done, there was no longer an adequate supply of gas or electricity available for the tenants). The
provisions of this act enable the Council to pay such sum to the statutory undertaker as may be necessary to
secure the reinstatement of the gas or electricity supply, as appropriate. Until this expenditure has been recovered
it is made a charge upon the property.
It has only been necessary to actually make payments under these provisions upon two occasions in the five
months since the act came into force, but these powers have been invoked upon a total of five other occasions,
which have resulted in owners taking the necessary measures to reinstate the gas or electricity supplies either by
payment of the outstanding account, or carrying out work to put the gas or electrical installations into working
order where a fault has developed.
HOUSES IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION Summary of action taken in 1971
| No. of separately occupied parts of houses visited for first time | 1,535 |
| No. of revists to above | 9,414 |
| No. of inspections where multiple occupation would exist upon completion of mortgage advances being contemplated by this Council | 79 |
| No. of houses where informal notices sent relative to S.15 (Amenities) | 189 |
| No. of houses where informal notices sent relative to S.16 (Fire Precautions) | 174 |
| No. of houses where items of inadequate management notified to owners | 81 |
| No. of cases of penal overcrowding | 37 |
| No. of cases of penal overcrowding abated | 39 |
| No. of cases of non-penal overcrowding | 18 |
| No. of cases of non-penal overcrowding abated | 10 |
| No. of formal S.14 Notices (Management) | 4 |
| No. of formal S.15 Notices (Amenities) | 25 |
| No. of formal S.16 Notices (Fire Precautions) | 38 |
| No. of formal S.78 Notices (overcrowding) | 4 |
| No. of houses where S.19 Directions made | 1 |
| No. of houses where S.12 Management Orders made | 6 |
| Other Notices served | 246 |
| Other visits including discussions with owners, builders etc. at premises | 1,872 |