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It should be possible to induce owners of housing propertv
to attend to such matters as the provision of "adequate facilities
for preparing and cooking food," and the Housing and Tow
Planning Act places the necessity of doing the work upon tie
sanitary authority, while giving the owners opportunity in various
directions to place the cost upon the local authority. In fact, it
has been found a safer proceeding in this Borough, where it has
been desired to carry out work by the Council, to obtain a
Magistrate's Order under the Public Health (London) Act, 1891,
and to work entirely under that Act.
The Public Health (London) Act, 1891, however, does not go
far enough, and certainly many of the conditions laid down as
desirable in the Manual cannot be enforced under that Act.
Although the work carried out by the Sanitary Inspectors is
of the utmost value in maintaining housing property in a comparatively
decent condition, and in checking the formation of slum
areas, it is not possible to prevent overcrowding, so that the
situation is becoming steadily more difficult in this respect. The
extent to which the careful work of the sanitary inspectors and
staff of the department has neutralised the ill-effects of overcrowding
is not realised.
The entire cost of the Public Health service in the Borough,
including all staff and the maintenance of the Tuberculosis Dispensaries,
the Welfare Centres, the Disinfecting Station, Isolatioo
Shelters and Mortuary, and all forms of assistance under the
Tuberculosis and Maternity and Child Welfare Schemes is estimated
during the coming financial year to amount to a rate of
3*78 pence.
The River Lee has remained in the usual offensive condition
during the summer months, and frequent protests from the Council
resulted in a visit of inspection on July 5th, 1923, by a Chemical
Specialist and a Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health.