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35
(b) Housing Conditions.
Housing Act, 1930.—Following the issue of Circular 1119 in
June, 1930, directing that special attention should be paid to Housing
defects and to the compilation of accurate records regarding the
Housing position generally, arrangements were made in October (as
soon as the incidence of Smallpox had lessened sufficiently) for the
District Sanitary Inspectors to commence a house-to-house census
of those streets which were assumed to be the most overcrowded.
Detailed particulars were taken at 1,244 houses and the findings
were fully summarised by Mr. Duncan for presentation to the Special
Committee set up to consider the working of the Act.
In view of the fact that no actual "definition" either of Clearance
or Improvement areas has yet been made pending the commencement
of the rehousing scheme, it is not possible to publish the summary
which would naturally indicate the areas which are to be dealt with.
The Sanitary Inspectors' Census was supplemented by the fullest
available information with regard to overcrowding in the Borough
as a whole and compiled from the following sources:—Applications
for Council houses, records of Sanitary Inspectors, Health Visitors
(see tables (page 96) Maternity and Child Welfare section), School
Nurses, Infectious Disease Nurse, Tuberculosis Officer, Voluntary
Agencies, and, most important of all, the results of the Borough
survey carried out by the School Attendance Department. The
survey embraced the whole Borough over the period November,
1926-November, 1930, and was made available by the kindness
of the Superintendent Attendance Officer, Mr. S. J. Longman.
Houses containing more than eight persons were reckoned as
"overcrowded," and care was taken to eliminate duplication of
several cases reported from more than one of the above sources.
The total number of overcrowded houses was 1,151.
A detailed report was made by your Medical Officer of Health and
Senior Sanitary Inspector to the Special Committee embodying all
the available information specified above and suggesting for clearance
a total of 49 houses which had been inspected by them and the
Chairman of the Public Health Committee. It was stated that the
clearance of these houses was more urgent than the provision of new
houses under the 1924 Act. Certain streets were suggested for
definition as "improvement" areas.
After considering the Special Committee's report your Council
made the following return to the Ministry:—