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by officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Pood and partly by officers of
County Councils and local sanitary authorities. In Leyton, Public Health Inspectors are
the authorised officers under the various Acts and Orders.
The Diseases of Animals Acts and Orders deal generally with the prevention and control
of outbreaks of scheduled diseases and protection of animals against unnecessary suffering
and in this connection 141 inspections were carried out during the year.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
The functions and responsibilities of the Public Health Committee in relation to air
pollution and smoke abatement are extended by the Clean Air Act; the provisions now in force
deal inter alia with the establishment of smoke control areas. Whereas the Clean Air Act
places the responsibility of enforcing its main provisions on Local Authorities in their
areas, smoke has no boundaries and the nature of the problem prompted the Public Health
Committee to advise the Council to convene a joint conference of Local Authorities for the
purpose of discussing matters of common interest in regard to air pollution and to give
preliminary consideration to the possibility of joint action in regard to any proposals for
the creation of smoke controlled areas which might involve more than one Authority. The
Committee also had in mind a suggestion made by the Minister of Housing and Local Govern
ment in a memorandum on Smoke Control Areas in which he stated that it was highly desir
able that Local Authorities should keep one another informed about their smoke control
programmes and co-ordinate as much as possible.
The Council confirmed the Committees proposals and a joint conference of Local Author
ities was duly held in the Council Chamber at Leyton Town Hall on Thursday. 24th October,
under the Chairmanship of the Mayor (Councillor Mrs.A.M.M. Burrell, J P.), It was attended
by representatives of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the London and Home
Counties Smoke Abatement Advisory Council and the following Local Authorities- Barking.
Dagenham. East Ham, Hackney, Ilford, Leyton, Poplar, Walthamstow. Wanstead & Woodford West
Ham, and Woolwich.
Councillor F.W.Marshall (Chairman of Leyton's Public Health Committee), in an opening
statement, said that the nature of the problems connected with the campaign for clean air
made it imperative that local authorities should get together to exchange information and
discuss the common problems arising from the administration of the Clean Air Act. The
present Conference was to be informal and purely exploratory, he said, and it was not
expected or intended that any fixed decisions would be made at this juncture. Councillor
Marshall outlined the action so far taken by his Council in regard to air pollution, men
tioning the various forms of publicity which had been adopted including the recent Leyton
Borough Public Health Exhibition; the measurement of atmospheric pollution in co operation
with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; representations to local indus
trial and utility undertakings in regard to complaints about air pollution from these
sources, and the provision of lectures and film shows. He also referred to a proposal that
the Council's "all-electric" Crescent Road Redevelopment Area should form the nucleus of
Leyton's first smoke control area. From this small beginning it was hoped to expand the
area over which smoke would be controlled.
The remainder of the proceedings mainly took the form of statements from represent
atives about their Council's proposals for implementing the provision of the Act. and the
action they had already taken in the campaign for clean air. Doubts were expressed about
availability of solid smokeless fuels in sufficient quantity; but the representatives were
informed that both the Government and the manufacturers had this aspect well in mind and
had made good progress with their plans for meeting the anticipated increased demand. It
was agreed that all possible publicity should be given, and that the public must be encouraged
to accept that the major cause of atmospheric pollution was the domestic fire.
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