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utensils and preparing vegetables; school wash basins are some distance from the water closets, etc., and
even where washing facilities are available the supply of hot water, towels and soap may be inadequate.
Again, in food poisoning, the real dangers are often unseen to the public who tend to concentrate on obvious
infringements of general hygiene such as dirty bank notes, unwrapped bread and cracked crockery which
so far have not been shown to be the sources of food poisoning. Now that school meals are general in all
schools a great opportunity exists for food hygiene, by precept and example, to become a standard part
of day to day education.
A consideration of the foregoing shows that local sanitary authorities, in their efforts to improve
food hygiene, must rely chiefly on the day to day work of the sanitary inspectors. The human element
is prone to failure and there is no substitute for the regular, systematic and persistent inspection of food
premises of all kinds by such staff. Organised educational work among staff employed in the trade and
among the public can supplement the work of the sanitary inspectors and should be continued though the
results may be disappointing and uncertain.
HOUSING
Shortage of houses continues to be a prominent feature of our social circumstances. The compulsory
and prolonged sharing of houses by families causes not only physical discomfort but leads to
frustration and discontent which reveal themselves in neurotic type of illness and unhappy and broken
homes. Scarcity of homes makes the start of family life difficult for the unmarried, and the bearing and
rearing of children difficult for the married. The numbers of new houses erected in the Borough in recent
irpars arp shown below :—

The value of money has gone down and costs of repair and maintenance have increased considerably
while rents have remained fixed by the Rent Restrictions Acts. As a result of this income from house
property is becoming inadequate to meet the cost of maintenance. There is a grave risk that such circumstances,
if continued, will create a future liability in the replacement of houses which, if attended to
now, could provide reasonable homes for years.
A poor house is better than none, and in some cases perhaps preferable to sharing a good house,
but because of general housing shortage people should not be left to continue indefinitely in occupation
of insanitary property. Action in regard to slum clearance and sub-standard houses continues to be
postponed as far as is possible, but this delaying tactic brings its own problems. Action under the Housing
Acts is governed by "reasonable" cost and this, with rents static and costs soaring, is very difficult to
assess. Care has to be exercised in deciding whether action under the repair and demolition sections of
the Housing Act or under the nuisance sections of the Public Health Act is appropriate. The department
tries to hold the balance evenly and to ask only for essential work to be done. A summary of the action
taken during the year is given below:—
Houses inspected 419
Defective houses rendered fit in consequence of informal action 197
Defective houses rendered fit in consequence of statutory action 88
Houses in respect of which Demolition Orders were made 5
Houses demolished in pursuance of Demolition Orders 10
Houses in respect of which undertakings not to re-let accepted 6
Houses demolished where undertakings had been given 4
Houses rendered fit in consequence of undertaking given by owner —
Houses in respect of part of which Closing Orders were made 1
Houses known to be overcrowded (Housing Act Standard) at end of year 135
New cases of overcrowding reported 55
Cases of overcrowding relieved during the year 18
Certificates issued under Section 12 of the Rent and Mortgage Interest Restriction (Amendment)
Act, 1923 —
At the end of the year 58 houses were still occupied though subject to Demolition Orders, Closing Orders,
or undertakings not to re-let. The continuing occupation of these houses is a matter of some concern.
The Housing Department is kept informed of adverse housing conditions coming to the notice of the Health
Department. Assistance is given to the Housing Department in the assessment of applications for re-housing
where priority is claimed on medical or public health grounds.
It must be pointed out that the above record of overcrowding refers only to houses known to be
overcrowded according to the Housing Act Standard. For example: one house consisting of 2 living
rooms, 3 bedrooms (2+box room) and scullery is occupied as follows:—bedroom—3 adult men; bedroom
2 adult women and child aged 6 years; bedroom—3 children aged 12, 9 and 2 years; living room—
1 adult man. These occupants are the equivalent of 8\ Housing Act "units," but the house is not overcrowded
according to the Housing Act Standard unless the number of "units" is in excess of 10. The
Housing Act assesses overcrowding in terms of floor area per person and total rooms in the house and not
on a bedroom standard.
GENERAL MATTERS
Burials.—Under Section 50 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, it is the duty of the Council to
arrange the burial of any person who has died in the district where it appears that there are no suitable
arrangements for the disposal of the body. During 1950, 96 burials were arranged in accordance with this
section.
Public Mortuary.—The public mortuary is situated in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church. The
premises are out-of-date and unsuitable for post-mortem examinations or the retention of a body for other
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