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26
SECTION D.
FACTORIES, OUTWORKERS, SMOKE ABATEMENT,
SHOPS ACT, RODENT CONTROL, AND VERMINOUS
CONDITIONS AND UNCLEANLINESS.
Factories, Workplaces and Outworkers.
The supervision of factories is partly in the hands of the
Factory Inspectors of the Ministry of Labour and National
Service, and partly in the hands of Local Authorities. Factories
having mechanical power are largely the responsibility of the
former, and factories without mechanical power the latter. In
both cases the adequacy and efficiency of the sanitary accommodation
is dealt with by the Local Authority.
Owing to the all embracing interpretation of the term
"factory," there are 179 premises on the department's register.
The definition includes such premises as boot and shoe repairers,
cycle and radio repair shops and all premises, however small,
where articles are made, repaired, altered or adapted for sale
(to quote just a small part of a very long definition). Comparatively
few of this number are of any size and these are
mainly situated in the Cray Valley.
The supervision of workplaces is carried out by the Local
Authority under the provisions of the Public Health Act, 1936.
The name "outworker" is applied to persons carrying out
certain classes of work at their houses and the employer, i.e., the
occupier of the factory, is required to supply to the District
Council, every six months, lists containing the names and
addresses of such persons. None of the local factories employ
outworkers, but a certain number of our residents are employed
by factories in other areas. When a case of infectious disease
is notified at an outworker's home, steps are taken to ensure
that there is no risk of infection being conveyed by the articles
made thereat.
Smoke Abatement.
The figures obtained by the analysis of the contents of the
deposit gauge at St. Mary Cray fluctuate considerably from
month to month due mainly to variations in climatic conditions,
viz., wind direction and rain, but the average monthly deposit
for the years 1949 and 1950 corresponds very closely, that for
1949 being the equivalent of 14.78 tons per square mile, and for
1950 15.88 tons per square mile. As stated in previous reports,