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SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA.
In the foreword to this Report I have briefly mentioned some
of the adverse circumstances which made the work of sanitary
inspection so difficult during the past year.
Ministry of Health Circular 171/46 had the effect of restricting
the issue of building licences to certain urgent works, including
work to comply with sanitary notices. The restriction of building
materials was such that even when only minor repairs up to a cost
which did not involve obtaining a building licence were concerned
it was found impossible to obtain materials until a Certificate of
Essentiality was granted by this Department. Requirements on
these Certificates had to be checked on the premises in many
instances.
In addition to these factors, the housing problem became more
difficult. Newly married couples, unable to find separate accommodation,
went to live with their parents or other relations, thus
creating overcrowding and giving rise to further complaints and
more work for the Department.
The arrangements under which building licences were issued
often caused confusion between the Public Health Department
the Licensing Department, owners and builders, and it was not until
the close of this year that the arrangements suggested by the Ministry
of Health that a licence should accompany a statutory notice was
approved in this Borough.
The Sanitary Inspectors, therefore, had every possible difficulty
to meet in enforcing compliance with sanitary notices and it is not
surprising that so many Sanitary Inspectors obtained appointments
elsewhere and this was particularly unfortunate at a time when the
number of complaints had reached treble the pre-war number.