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(3) Certificates of Disrepair
Tenants of controlled premises are continuing to disregard the Rent Act as it no
longer appears to provide a means whereby an owner is required to carry out repairs in
order; to receive the prescribed rent. No applications were received during the year from
tenants for a Certificate of Disrepair to be issued whereas in the 14 years following the
introduction of the Act in 1957, 697 applications were received — 668 of. these during
the period 1957/63.
Two Certificates of Disrepair were cancelled during the year following application
by the landlord.
(4) Qualification Certificates
Part III and Schedules 2 and 3 of the Housing Act 1969 has been repealed and
replaced by Part III of the Housing Finance Act 1972.
An interesting point in Section II of the Housing Finance Act, 1972 dealing with
Slum Clearance subsidies, is the definition of slum clearance functions, which includes
action under Sections 16 to 32 of the Housing Act 1957 (individual unfit houses).
Applications made by owners, as shown below, have required the complete inspection
of these dwellings by district public health inspectors to ensure that the qualifying conditions
have been satisfied; further reinspections have been made in cases where the
application has been held in abeyance while the owner has carried out essential works of
repair to enable the qualifying conditions to be met.
The position at the end of 1972 was as follows :
Number of applications received 1456
Number of certificates issued 760
(5) Medical Priorities
During the year 47 families who had been given priority on medical grounds were
rehoused whilst a further 94 families were recommended for preferential treatment.
I am grateful to the Housing Manager for his valuable assistance in rehousing so
many families with medical priority during the year.
(2) INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD
(1) Meat Inspection
Imported meat from the Continent has continued to arrive at one establishment in
the Borough and this is inspected when off-loaded.
(2) Food Complaints
All food traders were again reminded in the early part of the year of the importance
of proper rotation of perishable foods, and indeed the number of complaints arising from
this dropped a little during the year, the total of 133 being 17 less than the previous year.
FOOD AND DRUGS ACT, 1955
During 1972 legal proceedings were taken in 17 cases with the following results :
1. A bakery was fined £15 with £11 costs for selling a loaf of bread containing
an insect.
2. A dairy was fined £20 with £5 costs for selling a packet of cheese affected with
mould.
3. A manufacturer was fined £20 with £5 costs for selling a packet of cheese containing
a piece of rubber.
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