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an effective implement by which the standard of health and welfare of workers may be
advanced. This will not be achieved, however, without active and enlightened enforcement,
The local authority should not under-estimate the dimensions of the task confronting
it, and in this connection, the Council has authorised the public health inspectorate
to administer and enforce the provisions of the Act, and regulations made thereunder,
which come within the Jurisdiction of the local authority. A detailed survey of all
offices, business, and other premises in the borough will have to be undertaken before
the number of premises to be inspected can be accurately stated, but, as a modest estimate,
this figure is likely to be in the region of at least 2,500. Existing staff cannot
hope to undertake such a task without reinforcement, and the local authority will need
to recognise the inevitability of increase in the establishment of the public health
inspectorate. The work will be arduous and will call for tact, diplomacy and firmness,
and demand legal and technical efficiency.
The main provisions of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act will not be
effective until 1964, and until the Minister has made regulations as provided for in
the Act.
1963 will occupy an important place in the history of environmental health legislation,
as being the year in which a charter for the health and welfare of office workers
was born. Certainly the period of gestation has been a long one; let us hope that it
will develop into a vigorous and sturdy infant, and thence to full maturity as yet
another major step in the progress of environmental health.
BUSINESS PREMISES - GENERAL
In the Borough there are some 2,100 business premises, comprising factories,
industrial undertakings, food premises, catering establishments, shops, etc., involving
2,700 activities, including registration and licensing. All these premises come within
the province of the district public health inspectorate as part of their duties to
ensure that the requirements of the many Acts, Orders and Regulations relating to such
premises are complied with.
1,101 inspections of business premises were made during the year, 104 notices were
served, and 27 new registrations and/or licences were dealt with.
FOOD PREMISES - INSPECTION
A total of 1,897 inspections were made at food premises during the year to ensure
compliance with the Food Hygiene (General) Regulations.
87 notices were served in connection with contraventions, and in one case it was
necessary to institute legal proceedings against the proprietor of a cafe. A fine of
£10 and costs of £3 were imposed in relation to the failure to maintain premises and
equipment in a clean condition.
The food hygiene inspections included visits to outdoor events such as the Easter,
Whitsun and August Fairs and the August Cricket Festival at the Leyton Sports Ground.
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