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ought to fall on the occupier of the house. On the hearing of the appeal the Court
may make such order as it thinks fit. In exercising this discretion the Court shall
have regard to the degree of benefit to be derived by the persons concerned, and
to all the other circumstances of the case, including (as between the owner and
the occupier) the terms and conditions of the tenancy whether contractual or
statutory.
Prior to this amendment to the law, the Borough Council had in a number
of individual cases given detailed consideration as to whether the tenant or the
owner should be required to provide the new dustbin.
Pet Shops.
Eight applications for the renewal of licences to keep pet shops within the
Borough have been approved. These premises are visited periodically by the
Sanitary Inspectors to ensure that the requirements of the Pet Animals Act and
the conditions subject to which licences are issued are being complied with. Sixty
such inspections were carried out during the year.
Rag Flock.
The Sanitary Inspectors regularly inspect premises where rag flock and other
filling materials are manufactured and stored, and samples of these filling materials
are obtained for analysis. There are three registered premises in the Borough
where filling materials to which the Act applies are being used, and the Council
has issued one licence for the manufacture of rag flock.
During the year the following samples were obtained for analysis: —rag flock
(3); millpuff (3); coir fibre (3); woollen mixture felt (2); cotton felt (1); and Algerian
fibre (1). Coir fibre is obtained from the husks of coconuts and millpuff is manufactured
from unused raw cotton. Algerian fibre is produced from a small palm
leaf.
A new standard for the cleanliness of filling materials was issued during the
year by the British Standards Institution which differs in some ways from the
standard on which the principal Rag Flock Regulations made in 1951 were based.
A review of the 1951 Regulations is to be made by the Minister of Housing and
Local Government in the light of the new standard, with a view to amending the
present law as may seem desirable in the light of experience gained during the past
three years.
Rag and Bone Dealers.
The Public Health (London) Act, 1936, as amended by the London County
Council (General Powers) Act, 1952, places restrictions, in the interests of public
health, on sales by dealers in rags, old clothing and similar articles. During the
year the Council instituted legal proceedings in respect of two offences against the
Byelaws made by the London County Council relating to the business of a rag
and bone dealer. A fine of 10s. and 10s. 6d. costs was imposed in the case of
one dealer, who was seen by a police constable outside a Plumstead school handing
books from a motor truck which was loaded with bundles of old clothes and boxes
containing pens, pencils, books and rings. In the other case, a police constable
saw a man slowly pushing a hand-barrow on which there was a quantity of rags
and other clothes, and a number of rag dolls. A fine of 10s. and 20s. costs was
imposed in this case.
Shops Act, 1950.
The provisions of the Shops Act, 1950, relating to suitability of ventilation,
lighting, washing facilities, and sanitary accommodation and maintenance of suitable
temperature in shops is the responsibility of the local sanitary authority. Altogether
738 visits of inspection were made by the Sanitary Inspectors for this purpose
during the year.
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