[Report 1933] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City.

  • Edinburgh (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1933
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1933] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/194
    In terms of the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1930, a survey was made of the insanitary houses throughout the City and a report submitted to the Local Authority to assist them in the preparation of the Five Years’ Programme (1934-38). In this connection it was decided that 750 houses per annum for the next five years were to be built by the Local Authority to assist in the clearance of insanitary houses and to relieve the extent of overcrowding, and also, that 750 houses per annum were to be built by private enterprise to meet the other needs of the populace, failing which the Corporation were to provide these houses. It was proposed to deal with three Clearance Areas as part of the first year’s pro- gramme, viz., Ann Terrace, etc ; Trafalgar Lane, Leith ; and Maryfield, etc., Porto- bello. The “ Official Representation ” in connection with the Ann Terrace, etc., Clearance Area was submitted to the Local Authority in December and was approved by them. This Area deals with 87 houses (69 occupied and 18 vacant) and affects a population of 301 persons. Considerable inroads were made during the year into the list of “ individual unfit houses ” and altogether 512 houses were represented to the Public Health Committee and Closing or Demolition Orders were made. These houses, scattered throughout the City, included several of the most insanitary dwellings. Overcrowding.—The problem of overcrowding in the smaller houses is still very acute. Fresh instances are either being discovered or reported frequently and, despite the efforts of the house-letting department in providing suitable accommodation for many of the worst cases, a considerable residue remains. The extent of overcrowding in the individual cases is judged on the present standard of 400 cubic feet per person, but it is felt that a new standard is desirable and one similar to that laid down for Improvement Areas under the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1930, should be adopted and applied to all houses. Proper housing is one of the essentials of Public Health and while the Corporation has accomplished much valuable work, to an extent for which it often does not receive credit, the problem is not yet solved because there are far too many inhabitants in the City living in houses which are only fit for condemnation, and this difficulty can only be overcome by building or re-conditioning as rapidly as possible, to provide accom- modation for the tenants who should be displaced. Tuberculosis.—There has been a very slight increase in the number of deaths from this disease during the past year, the number being 322 as compared with 313 for the previous year, representing a death-rate of 0 71 per 1000 as against 0 69 for the year 1932. The highest incidence of the disease as judged by the number of deaths is found in St. Andrew’s and St. Giles Wards with rates of 14 per 1000, as against 0*71 for the whole City. The effect of the improvement in housing in St. Leonard’s area is reflected