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Holidays for Old People:
The holiday scheme whereby old people get a seaside holiday during off season months
of May and September, at reduced rates, continued during 1959 and was operated by the
various Old People's Clubs in the Borough. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the
granting of a Borough Charter to Southall, the Southall Old People's Welfare Association
operated a special holiday provision paid for by the Council whereby 50 old age pensioners
were given a free holiday for one week, the Association itself providing the travellers with
spending money and comforts.
Other Services:
A service for the provision of cheap laundry and a cheap boot and shoe service are
available. The North Thames Gas Board offers a free service of inspection of the gas
appliances and service pipes in houses of old age pensioners living alone. The reason for
this is to reduce the risk of gas poisoning, a frequent cause of home accidents and fatalities
in old people. The offer includes free replacement of faulty pipes and the free repair of
faulty appliances. To take advantage of this offer, lists of old people living alone are submitted
from the Public Health Department and in due course the homes of the persons nominated
on the lists are visited by the Gas Board officers. Fresh lists continued to be supplied from
time to time.
Southall Association for the Occupation of the Elderly:
The Work Centre for the Elderly situated in the Municipal Sports Ground, and maintained
by a voluntary association supported in part by Middlesex County Council and
Southall Borough Council, continued to operate throughout 1959.
Various types of simple work were carried out by the old people in quite a satisfactory
way, indeed as the firms supplying the work were expected to pay the proper rate for work,
it was essential that the work should be completed to their satisfaction. The number of
workers had risen by the end of the year to 50, and various types of work were carried out,
carding buttons, sorting mixed metallic wastes from a large engineering company, trimming
and stamping of metal bolts, trimming of rubber, assembly of ball point pens, etc., and the
old people could be put on the jobs which were most suited to their capabilities.
Any old age pensioner is eligible to apply for work under this Scheme and once taken
on is kept on whether his or her output can be considered significant or not. It is realised
by the workers that a flat rate of 10/- per week for a ten hour week is certainly much less
than the younger healthy pensioner would be able to obtain in the labour market, but they
also realise that as they grow older or ill and less able to do very much work this wage will
continue the same. The scheme can never become self-supporting, but it is showing great
benefits in the social and even physical well-being of the people who are working. There
is a very happy atmosphere in the work rooms. Tea-making facilities are available at the
Work Centre and during the year new Rest Room Furniture and Equipment were purchased
and installed, from money obtained by public appeal. The Public Library Staff arranged
to maintain a small selection of books at the Centre.
National Assistance Act, 1948, Section 47:
National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951:
No case was dealt with under these powers during 1959.
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