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The tradition we are starting to build as the new borough starts on its way is I hope one
of efficiency and humanity.
Without efficiency we face not only exasperation but breakdown in view of the acute
shortage of manpower and finance. The administrative side of our affairs has leapt into an almost
unforeseen importance. Good administration can really take advantage of the larger unit of local
government, because the numbers in different categories of need are now sufficient to make
concentrated attention on them an administrative possibility. On the other hand, the disadvantages
of the larger unit—remoteness and delay—are far more testing in the field of administration than
anywhere else. Good administrative staff are no luxury now, as they perhaps might have been
before April 1965 when local action in the social services was generally supervised by the
administration at Chelmsford and all important decisions taken there. In the modern situation
administrative staff of the highest calibre are as important as technical staff. The following pages
give an indication of how wide and complex and yet how inter-related are the interests administered
from the Health and Welfare department.
In one respect the larger unit could be, though I do not think it will be, a disaster, and
this is in its tendency to militate against the humanity of its affairs. A quarter of a million people
cannot be a community except in a statistical sense. It is absolutely vital to preserve and
encourage small communities. People must care for each other in numbers meaningful to single
individuals, whether it be North Chingford, Cann Hall or Priory Court; whether it be the Spastics
Society, the Hard of Hearing Club or the Colostomy Association; those who have to think big for
economic reasons must take care that they also think small and respect even more those who carve
out for themselves a life of social service within a very small local horizon. These people are the
very life blood of the borough and many more of them are needed, though one must admit to valuing
them more highly when they work to strengthen rather than distort the general framework constructed
by the borough at the ratepayers' expense. The voluntary spirit, the voluntary organisations, big
and small, the individual voluntary helper, all are vital to the community well being.
Shortage of professional and technical staff has been an acute embarrassment in all fields
but particularly as regards Public Health Inspectors. In the circumstances it is all the more to
their credit that they have made such excellent headway during the year in the environmental field.
The pressure on Social Workers in both the Mental and Social Welfare field was also acute,
particularly in the early days before a more realistic establishment was created in the light of
experience. Even more acute from day to day has been the shortage of domestic staff in all the
varied establishments.
As regards fluoridation, I must express my dismay at the decision of the Council to
reject this beneficial measure and to accept the distress, and sometimes pain, experienced by the
thousands of children in the borough who last year had 31,246 fillings and 5,138 extractions of
teeth, because of fears which have over and over again been shown to be absolutely and completely
groundless. If only the irrational fear of 0.000,001 part of fluorine was as easy to remove as it is
difficult to plant a rational fear of quantities of benzpyrene, arsenic, nicotine, cresol and other
poisons in cigarette smoke!
I should like to express my thanks to the staff for their work throughout the year—a year
which in terms of pressure of work for the staff was one of a type which one would not wish to see
more than once in a lifetime. I should also like to express on behalf of all the staff thanks to all
of other departments for their help and co-operation.
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