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96
Environmental Health
Improvement Grants—Publicity
In order to give publicity to the Improvement Grant Scheme, mobile exhibitions were
organised to cover Improvement Areas 2, 3 and 4. The Ministry of Housing and Local Government
Mobile Exhibition visited selected sites in the Borough in close proximity to improvement areas, and
during the period 879 people visited inquired about and inspected the exhibits relating to improvement
schemes.
In addition to the above, publicity and exhibitions were also given at the "Welcome to Citizenship
Exhibition" at Uxbridge Technical College on the 17th to 19th April and at Hillingdon Borough
Show on the 22nd June. The Health and Welfare Departments shop window was also set out for two
weeks during the year showing models, photographs and literature which fully covered the Improvement
Grant Scheme. In addition, three traders in the Borough, at the request of the Department
"dressed out" sections of their windows giving prominence to the provision of bathrooms, indoor
toilets and hot water systems. Publicity was also given in the Middlesex Advertizer and Hillingdon
Mirror to the Improvement Grant Scheme and both the North Thames Gas Board and the Southern
Electricity Board made advertising contributions to the Scheme.
It is felt that maximum publicity has been given to the Scheme and on every possible occasion
when visiting dwelling houses the Public Health Inspectors advise both tenants and owner occupiers
alike about the advantages of having improvements carried out with the financial assistance of the
Improvement Grant Scheme.
Repair (Housing and Public Health Acts)
The Public Health Acts still continue to be the main instrument used to require repairs to dwelling
houses, either as a result of complaint by tenants or by discovery during routine inspection. Legislation
to deal more effectively with the repair of dwelling houses under the Housing Acts is overdue. The
Housing Bill now before Parliament contains provisions which appear to improve the position.
Judgement on this can only be made when the Bill becomes law.
In 1968, 308 complaints were received by the department concerning disrepair in dwelling houses
and the district public health inspectors made 1,128 visits to houses for initial inspections and reinspections
to secure compliance with notices and to supervise works of repair.
The following table shows formal and informal action taken to secure the repair of dwellings.

Demolition and Closure
23 whole houses and 3 parts of houses were reported to the Council as unfit for human habitation
and not capable of repair at reasonable expense, in respect of which 13 Closing Orders and 13
Demolition Orders were made.