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74
July 19th, 1934, decided that the capital cost involved should be
treated as appropriate to the Public Health Service, but that there
would be no objection to reasonable charges for such cleansing being
taken into account as expenses for the purpose of the Housing Act,
1930—that is to say, as expenses incurred in connection with the
work of the Housing Committee.
The work carried out by the Public Health Department as
regards the destruction of bugs in furniture moved into the new
housing estate of the Shoreditch Housing Association at Shakespeare
House, Lyme Grove, was charged for at the rate of 25s. a load: at
that time the actual cost had not been definitely worked out. It
was necessary, in order to make sure that furniture and belongings
were clean, for the Public Health Department, with the permission
of the Boroughs concerned, to send into neighbouring boroughs, to
make the arrangements for removal for steam disinfection of bedding
and for the picking up and destruction of foul articles, as in the
case of removals from Hackney Clearance Areas. Those neighbouring
Boroughs then proceeded to deal with the verminous houses
vacated, which were not in Clearance Areas, by means of enforcing
action by the owners. No charge was made by the Public Health
Committee as regards any service other than the cyanide gas
disinfestation, and recently treatment of old stock bricks by Orthodichlor-benzine
on the site of the new Bethnal Green Housing
Association's site in Brunswick Street was carried out free of charge
in conjunction with other preventive measures taken by that
Association and directed against infestation by building materials
on the site. The principle lying behind the procedure generally
being that while the tenants and owners should be helped by the
Public Health Department to a reasonable extent it should also
be realised that the responsibility rests with the owners and tenants
and that they are expected as far as possible to interest themselves
and take such steps themselves as lie within their powers.
The London County Council, as owners of their housing
properties, are responsible for keeping their tenements free of
vermin, and there is no apparent reason why the Borough Council
should relieve the County Council of the cost of any work in this
direction, although I have several times reminded County Council
officials that cyanide gas facilities can be obtained in Hackney.
As already stated, if the view be taken that the Housing Committee
are the owners and managers of the Borough Council housing
estates on behalf of the Council, the responsibility rests with the
Housing Committee.
If it were not for one particular aspect of this matter I would,
as Medical Officer of Health, desire that there should be no charges
made to any owner or tenant for any service of this kind, just as
obtains in the case of infectious disease; but as regards vermin,