London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Harrow 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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57
Shops
There are 2,348 shops on the register, a decrease of thirteen on the
previous year.
During the year 1,255 visits were made for the purpose of administering the Shops Act. The following is a summary of the contraventions noted
| Shops in need of decorating | 4 |
| Heating, insufficient or absent | 17 |
| Watercloset accommodation insufficient for sexes | 1 |
| Watercloset choked, dirty or defective | 32 |
| Assistants employed on their weekly half-holidays | 10 |
| Shops open on the half-holiday without displaying prescribed notices | 24 |
| Shops with no weekly half-holiday closing | 2 |
| Shops failing to close on the weekly half-holiday | 3 |
| Serving customers with non-exempted articles after closing hour or half-day holiday | 7 |
| Serving customers after evening Closing Hour | 3 |
| Absence of seating for female assistants | 3 |
| Shops open for selling non-exempted articles | 5 |
| Failing to keep records of assistants' employment | 8 |
| Failing to allow compensatory holiday for Sunday employment or working excessive number of Sundays | 8 |
| Keeping the shop open without prescribed notices | 18 |
| Shops failing to close and assistants employed | 4 |
Three hundred and twenty-six warnings were sent in respect of the
above items and in one instance authority given to take legal proceedings.
During the routine inspections of shops the following defects were
noted:— six defective water heaters; eight defective waterclosets; ten
watercloset compartments requiring re-decoration and four shops
requiring re-decoration.
As contrasted with the position in 1938 there were increases of onethird
in the number of radio, television and electrician shops; in furnishers
and in motor and cycle supplies and accessories shops; and of about 20% in
ladies outfitters. The greatest increase was more than a doubling of the
number of shops selling wallpapers and paints. There were decreases
of about 10% in the numbers of confectioners/cafes, in grocery shops and
on newsagents, and a rather greater decrease in the number of boot
repairers, dairies and fish shops.
After a ballot had been taken, an order was made entitling motor
traders to sell motor vehicles on the weekly half-holiday but not on
Sundays.