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awaiting clearance for many years, and this work is proceeding as
quickly as possible. Details of the progress made during the year
in housing and slum clearance will be found in the body of the report.
The work of the Council in the pursuit of cleaner air has
already become well-known far beyond the boundaries of the Borough.
As part of the Council's policy to make the entire Borough smokeless
within the shortest possible time, further smoke control areas have
now been declared. Two smoke control areas will become operative
in the Autumn of 1959 and two further areas in the Autumn of 1960.
Resulting from publicity by the Council on clean air, local interest
has been aroused on this subject, and numerous enquiries have been
received from householders, not only those living in a proposed
smoke control area. The Council's staff had a busy year in carrying
out preparatory work for the operation of the first large smoke
control area. The Clean Air Act was passed in 1956, and although it
would be unrealistic to expect spectacular results in so short a
time, nevertheless improvement should be evident within the next
three years, when an area of about one-eighth of the Borough should
have become smokeless.
The importance of wide publicity in the establishment of smoke
control areas is appreciated, and to obtain maximum co-operation
from those living in a proposed smoke control area personal visits
have been made to each householder, who has also been informed in
writing of how he will be affected, and although there has been some
objection on a subject which concerns the individual so personally,
the great majority of the residents so far have been in favour of the
principles behind the Clean Air Act.
The local health services play a vital part in the life of the
community. One of the most important ways in which the preventive
health services can assist the general practitioner and the hospital
is through continuous health education, by acquainting the member of
the public with the range and variety of services available to them,
and encouraging them to find out more about health. During the year
over 80 sessions were arranged by the Health Department which were
, devoted to various aspects of health education, attention being paid
particularly to the publicising of the risk of home accidents and
clean air.
With regard to food hygiene, food handling standards continue to
improve, but sound practices are still not sufficiently observed as a
routine in all cases. Too often frequent changes of staff militate
against this. The Food Inspectors do all they can to educate the
food handlers, but the public must be constantly prepared to remark
on bad practices.
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