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following letter, which had been approved by the Public Health
Committee, to hundreds of complainants:—
"I regret exceedingly that I am unable to send a Sanitary
Inspector to investigate your complaint at the present time.
This Borough has been affected since the beginning of
the war by the shortage of Sanitary Inspectors, and the position
in this respect is particularly bad at this time, since a number
of vacancies remain to be filled.
Moreover, the number of complaints requiring the attention
of a Sanitary Inspector has grown very considerably owing to
the state of housing in the Borough resulting from the war, so
that the remaining Sanitary Inspectors are unable to cope with
the work. The difficulty of obtaining building materials still
further affects the position since the Sanitary Inspectors have
greater difficulty in enforcing compliance with the Notices they
serve.
The appropriate Committees of the Council and the
Ministry of Health are aware of the situation and are considering
the best means of meeting the emergency.
Your complaint has been noted and will be dealt with as
soon as circumstances permit.
I very much regret the unfortunate position in which you
are placed.''
This letter, however, glossed over the most important fact
that it was the policy of refusing to pay salaries comparable to those
offered by other boroughs which was the chief factor in producing
the difficulties of this department at that time.
As a result of the distressing state of affairs then existing in
the borough, it was necessary to obtain permission from the Ministry
of Health to offer sanitary inspectors £50 a year over and above the
scales offered elsewhere in England and Wales. The Ministry
permitted the payment of this extra emolument in return for the
inspectors estimating the cost of work where licences were necessary
to secure compliance with sanitary notices—an arrangement which
had the desired effect of attracting sanitary inspectors, and was
also unique in England and Wales. This inducement, which was
in operation in respect of the sanitary districts of the borough for
2\ years, is no longer available because of the decrease in licensing
work and, in any case, would prove inadequate under present
conditions.