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11.
STEPNEY BOROUCH COUNCIL INFORMATION SERVICE.
(Under the direction of the Borough Librarian).
During the year under review, the number of persons
seeking information or advice at the Information Centre,
situated at 671a, Commercial Road, E.14, has again shown
an increase. A total of 12,296 enquirers either called,
wrote or telephoned the Centre, this number being an
increase of 1,063 over the previous year.
The scope of the enquiries has remained as varied as
ever, the staff of the Service having to deal daily with a
number of problems covering a very wide field and although
the administration of the Health, Insurance and Assistance
Acts have now become a feature of everyday life, problems
arising out of these Acts still form a considerable percentage
of the total enquiries dealt with at the Information
Centre.
The enquiries received can be broadly classified under
two main headings: (a) General and Local Information and
(b) Personal Problems. This latter heading covers numerous
matters and it is the attention given to these which forms
the most socially important activity of the Information
Service.
Although there has been a decrease in the number of
postal enquiries during the past year, the number received
by telephone has increased, this reflecting the greater use
of the Service being made by local firms and organisations.
In order to give a prompt reply to these telephoned enquiries,
an index'of general and local information has been
built up at the Centre, and this index has proved of
immense value in dealing with enquiries from a variety of
sources. Liaison has been maintained with the statutory
and voluntary bodies in the borough and as a result of the
co-operation by these bodies, many of the problems brought
to the Information Centre were settled expeditiously,
thereby giving a better service to the citizens of Stepney.
The nature of the enquiries for the year included
requests for information on.the following subjects
Allowances, family, special and dependant; Civil Defence;
Employment and Training ; Family Wfelfare and Assistance;
Holidays, Travel and Agricultural Schemes; Housing and
Accommodation; Income Tax; Landlord and Tenant; Legal Aid;
Marital; Local and Civic Information; National Health;
Maternity and Child Welfare ; National Insurance ; Pensions;