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45
SUPERVISION OF OTHER PREMISES
Routine visits are paid by the sanitary inspectors to such premises
as factories, licensed premises, cinemas and other buildings.
Factories
Sanitation. Earlier legislation was largely repealed by and to a
certain extent re-enacted in the Factories Act, 1937. Under this a
distinction is drawn between those factories in which mechanical power is
used and those where it is not. The District Council has responsibilities
in regard to the cleanliness, overcrowding, temperature, ventilation and
drainage of floors of those factories where mechanical power is not used.
In all factories, whether or not mechanical power is used, the District
Council is concerned to see that sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences
are provided, maintained and kept clean. The standard of
adequacy is set out in the Sanitary Accommodation Order, 1903. District
Councils are also concerned with fire escapes at factories and with
basement bakehouses. The Factories Act also lays a duty on District
Councils about home workers. Lists of out-workers of those engaged in
certain trades have to be kept and action taken if the persons are employed
in unwholesome premises.
Supervision of conditions of work: The conditions of work at
factories are supervised by the department of the Ministry of Labour
and National Service. Under central direction the country is divided
into areas for each of which a factory inspector is appointed. The
office of the local inspector is 38/39 York Terrace, Regents Park, N.W.1.
In each district there is the appointed factory doctor, usually a parttime
general medical practitioner. Amongst his duties are the examination
of young persons under the age of eighteen within fourteen days of
their first employment to determine whether they are fit for work or fit
only for some kinds of work, or fit for work only under certain conditions.
The surgeon for most of this district is Dr. D. V. Morgan-Jones, 7 Welbeck
Road, West Harrow; for Edgware, Stanmore and Kingsbury he is Dr.
E. E. Stephens, 3 Sefton Avenue, N.W.7.
At most of the factories in the district fewer than 50 persons are
engaged. Of the 24 larger factories there are eleven at which over 50 but
under 100 are employed, eight at which there are between 100 and 200,
two engage between 200 and 500, and at three over 500 are employed.
There are 536 factories or premises which are supervised by the
public health inspectors of the district. At 60 of these mechanical power is
not used and these are therefore supervised not only as regards sanitary
conveniences but also as to the general health provisions. To these
premises 423 visits were made, with the result that 19 notices were served.
58 defects were found; of these 24 were due to want of cleanliness, 14
were in respect of sanitary conveniences (11 unsuitable or defective).
information is passed on to the local inspector of factories about matters
ound at these premises with which he is concerned. In the same way he
raws the attention of the inspectors to points he has found which
concern them.