LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND DEFECTIVE HOUSES

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but had decided against the suggestion to removethe name. The main committee, however, had nodoubt about it; indeed, it nearly passed a resolutionthat the case should be referred to the General MedicalCouncil, though no one defined the offence withwhich the practitioner was to be charged before thatbody. A member eventually pointed out that thefunction of the insurance committee was to deal withinsured persons and not with general practice, andit remains for the Ministry, after it has dealt with therequest for removal of the name from the medical list,to consider whether further action is necessary.The procedure of other insurance committees is

to publish such reports (if and as amended) at the

rising of the committee ; before the full meeting theyare circulated privately to members. The committeein London is largely influenced by some of its memberswho are also members of the London County Council ;for the L.C.C. agenda is obtainable by the pressand the public before the council meetings andbefore disciplinary decisions made by subcommitteesagainst staff members have been confirmed. As a rule,however, there is likely to be much more presspublicity in cases where a doctor found to be doingsomething wrong-especially in connexion with theinsurance medical service-than there is for decisionsabout the offences of members of the staff of L.C.C.departments.

PUBLIC HEALTH

LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND DEFECTIVEHOUSES

LOCAL authorities often find it difficult to compelowners of working-class dwellings to keep them inproper repair. The legislation on the subject hasbeen built up gradually by a process of trial and error,and is not by any means adequately understood.Nevertheless it is sufficient, if rightly used, to givea local authority full power over the landlords inits district.How the council of the royal borough of Kensington

worked out a water-tight procedure was describedby Dr. James Fenton, the medical officer of health,at a meeting of the Royal Sanitary Institute onFeb. 15th. It is based on Sections 17, 18, and 22of the Housing Act 1930, which provide among otherthings that when a local authority is satisfied thatany working-class dwelling-house is unfit for humanhabitation it shall serve a notice on the person incontrol and any other person with an interest inthe house, requiring within a reasonable time, notless than 21 days, the execution of specified works.If the notice is not complied with, the local authoritymay then do the work. When it intimates itsintention to step in, the owner is guilty of obstructionif after seven days he begins any work. The authoritycan recover summarily its expenses and interest,and these can be made a charge on the premises.It can sue for the entire amount or can declare theexpenses payable by instalment. For the enforce-ment of its charge it has the powers of a mortgageeunder the Law of Property Act 1925. There is an

appeal to the county court with a time-limit of 21days against a repair notice, a demand for recoveryof expenses, or an order for payment by instalments.The Kensington procedure is contained in a number

of rules which are strictly followed. No order isever made for payment by instalments, for thecouncil has been advised by its legal members thatif any owner defaulted it could sue only for theinstalment not paid. Fifty-six days are allowed forthe execution of works in every case ; as this timeis sufficient for the building of a house the ownercannot argue that it is not sufficient for the repairof a house. When it undertakes work in defaultof an owner, it invites tenders from half a dozenbuilders and accepts the lowest, so that the chargeit makes against the owner is as low as he would havebeen able to secure if he had had the work done bycontract.

When a district sanitary inspector finds a house outof repair he warns the owner that unless the work is doneproperly a report will be made to the housing inspector.This officer serves a notice under Section 127 of the HousingAct 1925 that he proposes to make a survey, and the

town clerk serves a series of notices under Section 32 ofthe 1930 Act on the person in control and on superiorowners requiring them to state their interest in the

property. At his original survey the housing inspectormust decide whether the premises can or cannot be renderedfit for human habitation at a reasonable cost. Followingthe case of Cohen v. the West Ham Corporation, heardin the Court of Appeal last year, the inspector preparesa schedule with rough prices and comes to a conclusionwhether the subsequent income from the house willjustify the probable expenditure. If he proposes to goahead, the borough engineer reviews the schedule and itgoes before the public health committee. It is vitalthat the committee shall consider it, because they are theauthority which must authorise the repairs.The schedule requires the owner to carry out such repairs

as will secure a degree of habitability as high as is reason-able in the district. It generally includes such itemsas the repair of defective plaster and lath work, cleansingand decoration of rooms, renewal of defective timbering,repainting, remedy of dampness, provision of adequateventilation and accommodation for the washing of clothes,and the renewal of defective fireplaces and ovens. Theschedule is served on the person in control and also oninterested parties, who sometimes assist the councilby themselves serving a schedule of dilapidations. Anumber of copies are kept and used for inviting tendersif the council has to do the work itself, so that the contractorshall not be asked to do anything that the owner was notoriginally required to do.

Since 1920 notices have been served in Kensingtonin respect of 997 houses. Of this number 846 havebeen adequately repaired, either by the owner orby the council ; at the end of last year 55 caseswere in hand. Since 1929 no case has ever beenallowed to drop after the notice has been served.The council’s expenditure has been just under :iZ3300and it has recovered E3200 ; the remainder, withinterest, is now being collected. Its total lossesup to date have been E2. Even these strikingresults do not show the whole of the advantagesthat have been gained, for many owners, realisingthat they are faced with a rigid but enforceableprocedure, now forestall action by undertakingrepairs voluntarily, and nearly all landlords beginrepair work as soon as they know that their housesare about to be surveyed.

INFECTIOUS DISEASEIN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING THE WEEK ENDED

FEB. 17TH, 1934Notifications.-The following cases of infectious

disease were notified during the week : Small-pox, 20(last week 16) ; scarlet fever, 3336 (last week 3263);diphtheria, 1354 ; enteric fever, 88 ; acute pneumonia(primary or influenzal), 1738 ; puerperal fever, 56;puerperal pyrexia, 138 ; cerebro-spinal fever, 42;acute poliomyelitis, 4 ; encephalitis lethargica, 10;