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which were brought to light on complaint, informal action in
1,270 instances obtained abatement before the end of the year
in 1,195 cases. 27 Statutory Notices under the Public Health
Acts were required, 25 being complied with. In four cases formal
notices under the Housing Acts were served, three being complied
with. In regard to compliance with notices served under the
Public Health Acts it was necessary in eight cases for the Council
to carry out the work in default. Similar action was resorted to
in one of the cases where notice served under the Housing Act
had not been complied with. Action was required in regard
to three cases of overcrowding.
Inspection of Houses.
234 surveys were carried out under the Housing Act, in most
cases these measurements following on the receipt of an application
from the owner or agent for a certificate giving particulars of the
number of persons permitted to occupy the premises. The total
number of certificates issued since the coming into force of these
sections of the Act is 9,980 being made up of the figures of 2,122
issued in 1936 and 5,473, 749, and 1,402 in the succeeding years.
These figures represent almost the number of separate premises
measured up; almost though not entirely because a different
number of persons is permitted to occupy a house according as to
whether it is let to one or to more than one family so that requests
may be received for the permitted number following a change
of tenancy.
No houses this year were inspected and recorded under the
Housing Consolidated Regulations. The inspection of foster
parents' houses follows on the intimation of any person that she
proposes to undertake the care of foster children, attention in
these cases being paid particularly to the hygienic conditions of
the premises and also the question of possible overcrowding is
gone into.
Inspection of other Premises.
The premises included in the category of those at which
nuisances might be anticipated, to which 571 visits were paid,
include such places as stables, farms, pig-styes, allotments and
yards at which a nuisance might arise from accumulations of
manure or of rubbish or from general dirty conditions. Apart
from the routine visits, further visits would be necessary where
nuisance is being caused, these being repeated until the nuisance
has been abated. The other group of premises which are the
subject of periodic inspection and to which 519 visits were paid
consisted mainly of public and private conveniences, and this
year include air raid shelters.
Hairdressers' premises are visited periodically to see that
the Council's bye-laws as to the cleanliness of the premises and the