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62
The Government has directed Local Authorities to take active steps to
review housing conditions in their areas and forthwith resume full exercise
of their powers and statutory responsibilities under the Housing Acts,
1936/54, in relation to slum clearance and the enforcement of essential
repairs to defective dwelling houses.
In Circular 28/54, dated 15th December, 1954, the Ministry of Health
directed Local Authorities to include in the Annual Report of their Medical
Officer of Health details of the numbers of houses inspected in accordance
with the Housing Consolidated Regulations, 1925/32.
It is now possible to inspect house property only when complaints are
received or in order to follow up notices served, or in special emergencies.
This unsatisfactory method of intermittent inspection should be replaced by
house-to-house district inspection in accordance with Section 5 of the
Housing Act, 1936.
An indication of the urgent need for district inspection on a house-tohouse
basis may be gathered from statistics revealed by the 1951 Census—
of 34,720 households in the Borough, 67 per cent, are in certain respects
sub-standard. Each of these households (23,215 in number) should be
inspected by a sanitary inspector to ascertain the degree of unfitness and to
secure compliance with the relevant statutory provisions.
Business Premises.
In the Borough there are some 2,683 business premises—factories,
food premises, shops, industrial undertakings, etc.—involving some 3,425
activities, and subject to registration or licence under various Acts and Orders.
These premises should be inspected regularly by sanitary inspectors
to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Acts controlling them and the
health of those who work in them.
In four districts—about half the Borough—it is possible to inspect
business premises only when complaints are received or in connection with
matters which require urgent attention, such as the inspection of food to
ascertain its fitness for human consumption. Regular routine inspection of
about half the business undertakings in the Borough has almost ceased, and
visits to the remainder of the business premises have been curtailed.
Sampling.
Sampling of water, foodstuffs, and other commodities as required by
the Food and Drugs Acts and Orders, and the Rag Flock and Other Filling
Materials Act, 1951, has been reduced by 50 per cent.
GENERAL OBSERVATION
It should be realised that your Council's campaign of slum clearance
and scheme of future housing development by the re-development of outworn
areas depend primarily on the evidence made available by the housing
surveys of sanitary inspectors. That is the evidence by which the Ministry
of Housing and Local Government will be influenced in coming to a decision
whether your Council may acquire dwellings at site value or whether they
will have to be purchased at market value. The greater the number
of houses proved to be unfit within the terms of the Housing Acts, the greater