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4
send a letter to tenants pointing out that landlords are empowered to bring
proceedings in the county court to test the validity of certificates and
suggesting that before making deductions from rent legal advice should be
taken. A disturbing factor is the varying interpretations of the standard of
"unfitness" laid down in Section 9 of the Act. The continuing shortage of
housing accommodation makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
secure under Section 11 reasonable standards of fitness for houses in multiple
occupation, or to enforce the provisions of Section 12 in regard to overcrowding
in that type of dwelling.
The first post-war five-year programme for slum clearance covered the
years 1951-55 and, in anticipation of the proposals to be submitted to the
Minister jointly by the Borough Council and the County Council under Section 1
of the 1954 Act, the survey of the borough which commenced in 1953 reveals that
whilst Hackney cannot be regarded as a borough having extensive areas of "slum"
property it has, nevertheless, large numbers of houses, many in multiple occupation,
which by reason of age, disrepair and lack of amenities present a
serious problem. For the purposes of the return to the Minister, after a
discussion between officers of this department and officers of the Health
Department of the County Council, it has been provisionally agreed that close
on 200 properties will fall to be dealt with under clearance procedure in the
new quinquennial period. This figure does not, of course, take into account
the large numbers of individual houses of the type referred to above which
should be repaired and provided with modern amenities, but this is a matter
which raises the very serious problem of "reasonable cost" and also in many
cases rehousing. There is, in addition, the very extensive use of underground
room living accommodation. Prom a recent pilot survey of the many basement
dwellings it would appear not unreasonable to conclude that some sixteen per
cent. are unfit for human habitation and should be considered for closure in
the next few years.
With a view to expediting compliance with notices and dealing with complaints
of residents, a detailed review was made of departmental procedure.
Details of the new system put into operation are set out in the section dealing
with sanitary circumstances of the area in the body of the Report. This system
is working well and, together with the arrangement made in the early part of
the current year whereby legal proceedings are now dealt with by a petty
sessional court sitting at the Town Hall, has proved most helpful. The court
sits on an average twice a month and, where previously sanitary inspectors
quite frequently had to attend court on two or three days of the week and spend
a considerable time waiting for their cases to be heard, it is now possible for
all the department's cases to be heard at one morning's sitting.
It will be appreciated that the satisfactory working of a department such
as this depends on the availability of staff, adequate in numbers and in
quality, and it is with great regret that I have to stress the present unhappy
position in regard to sanitary inspection staff. On the 1st January, 1954,
there were four vacancies in the establishment of twenty-eight inspectors.
During the year two resigned to take appointments elsewhere and there were two
retirements, one on reaching the age limit and one on the grounds of ill-health:
four new appointments were made, so that the position at January 1st of the
current year was again four vacancies. Since this latter date six more
inspectors have left to take up appointments with other Authorities and there
has been one death, with the result that at the moment of writing there are
eleven vacancies. This is a very serious state of affairs and the inevitable
result is that the total amount of work, and to some extent the standard, must
be reduced. There is also the factor of the increasing complement of public
health legislation with which sanitary authorities are faced.
It would appear that, despite the inducements offered in London, inspectors
now tend to prefer working in provincial towns and there is, of course,
the overall shortage of sanitary inspectors. The schemes in operation for the
training of pupil sanitary inspectors are most welcome and should in due course