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The responsibility for keeping premises free from rats and mice rests with the occupiers. If they are
unable or do not care to undertake the necessary work themselves the services of the Council's operatives
are available on payment on a time and material basis. Not only must the rats on the premises be dealt with,
but also the conditions encouraging their presence if recurrence of infestation is to be avoided. By whatever
means rats and mice gain access to premises, their continued presence there is generally due to conditions
on the premises which provide food and/or harbourage, and it is proper that the occupiers should be
required to do something about it. Test baiting and, where necessary, treatment is carried out to sewers,
watercourses, tips, etc., but unless occupiers take active measures to discourage rats, slow progress will
be made towards eradication.
Shops Act, 1934, Section 10.—Certificates of Exemption in regard to the provision of sanitary
accommodation were issued for 2 shops.
Swimming Baths.—One private and three municipal swimming baths are situate in the Borough
and are open to the public. During the year 10 samples of water were taken from these baths and the results
of the analysis were satisfactory in each case. The purpose of the filtration and chlorination of swimming
bath water is to provide a constant supply of clear and sparkling water reasonably protected against contamination
by disease producing germs. The great variation in "bathing loads" and consequently in
degree of pollution makes the protection of swimming bath water no simple task. While baths' staff do
everything to maintain a "safe" standard of bath water the bathers themselves could assist very materially
by the observance of strict personal hygiene.
HOUSING
Shortage of houses continues to be a prominent feature of our social circumstances. The compulsory
and prolonged sharing of houses by families causes increasing frustration and despair which reveal
themselves in neurotic types of illness and unhappy and broken homes. The attainment of a standard
of one family to one house or flat would bring great happiness and good health to the community.
A poor house is better than none, and so action in regard to slum clearance and sub-standard houses
must be postponed or reduced to a minimum. Action under the Housing Act is governed by "reasonable
cost" and this, while rents remain static and building costs soar, is very difficult to assess. Great discretion
has to be exercised in deciding whether action should be taken under the nuisance sections of the Public
Health Act or the repair or demolition sections of the Housing Act. The department tries to hold the
balance evenly and to ask only for essential work to be done. In general house owners have co-operated
with the department and, though the Council has carried out a considerable amount of work in default of
the owners, there has been little recourse to legal proceedings. A summary of the work done in connection
with housing is given below:—
New houses erected:—
(a) By Local Authority 120
(b) By private enterprise 41
Houses inspected 546
Defective houses rendered fit in consequence of informal action 93
Defective houses rendered fit in consequence of statutory action 85
Houses in respect of which Demolition Orders were made 5
Houses demolished in pursuance of Demolition Orders 8
Houses demolished where Undertakings had been given 5
Houses rendered fit in consequence of undertaking given by owner Nil
Houses known to be overcrowded (Housing Act Standard) at end of year 98
New cases of overcrowding reported 32
Cases of overcrowding relieved during the year 22
Certificates issued under Section 12 of the Rent and Mortgage Interest
Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1923 1
Of the 41 houses erected by private enterprise 22 replaced houses which had been totally destroyed
by enemy action.
At the end of the year 54 houses in respect of which Demolition Orders had been made or Undertakings
not to re-let accepted from the owners were still occupied. The Housing Department is kept informed
of the conditions of these premises and of families whose application for housing accommodation
can be supported by the department on medical or sanitary grounds.
The official Housing Act Standards for overcrowding are assessed in terms of floor area per person
and total rooms in the house relative to the number of occupants and give a very different picture from
overcrowding measured on a bedroom standard.
INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF FOOD
Milk.—During the year 182 inspections were made at cowsheds, dairies and retail purveyors,
premises. Under the Milk (Special Designations) Orders 22 licences for the sale of "tuberculin tested "
milk, 24 for the sale of " pasteurised " milk and 2 for pasteurising plants were issued.
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