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business or for the purpose of any industrial or commercial undertaking. Such
works can generally speaking be described as factories in which mechanical
power is used, and the local authority is responsible for seeing that sufficient
and suitable sanitary conveniences are provided for the persons employed.
SECTION 114 (Posting of abstract of Act and notices) provides that there must
be exhibited in every factory a copy of a prescribed abstract of the provisions
of the Act.
The Medical Officer of Health of every District Council and any Officer
authorised by the District Council to inspect factories are required by SECTION
128 to send written certificates to H.M. Inspector of Factories of any factory
where such an abstract is not exhibited. This Section also places upon the
Medical Officer of Health an obligation to include in the Annual Report to his
Authority a report of the administration of the sections of the Factories Act
for which the Authority is responsible, and to send a copy of the Annual Report,
or so much of it as deals with these matters, to the Minister of Labour and
National Service.
At the end of the year there were 1,468 factories operating in the Borough
and the number of persons employed in these factories varied from one to 1,000.
The industries employing the largest numbers of persons are those connected
with clothing, chemicals, furniture, paint, cardboard and metal boxes, shoes,
plastic and rubber articles, fountain pens and pencils.
In the Public Health Department, responsibility for the inspection of
factories is shared by the Factories Sanitary Inspector. who is responsible for
the inspection of factories employing 50 or more persons, and the district
inspectors, who are responsible for factories in which less than 50 persons are
employed.
A total of 3,347 visits were made to 1,094 factories.
Following written notices to the occupiers of 253 factories at which 257
defects were found, defects, to the number of 235 were remedied. Notification
of the existence of defects in respect of 79 premises was received from H.M.
Inspector of Factories.

A number of complaints of alleged nuisances arising from factory operations
relating to noise from machinery, smoker fumes and effluvia were received.
SECTION 66 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1937, enacts that
a noise nuisance shall be deemed to exist where any person continues or causes
to be made or continued, any excessive unreasonable or unnecessary noise which
is injurious or dangerous to health. This section enables a noise nuisance to
be dealt with summarily as a nuisance under the Public Health (London) Act,
1936, with the proviso that, except in the case of a sanitary authority, no
complaint to a Petty Sessional Court in respect of a noise nuisance shall be of
any effect unless it is made by not less than three persons being either householders
or occupiers of premises within hearing of the noise nuisance which is
the subject of the complaint.
As a result of thirty-two complaints of noise nuisances received, 202
investigations were made and in nine instances informal notices drawing the
attention of the occupiers of the premises concerned to the existence of a
nuisance were served. In six cases the nuisances were abated without recourse
to formal action, and three formal notices were outstanding at the end of the
year.