Public Health (London) Act 1936



Public Health (London) Act, 1936

(26 Geo. 5 & 1 Edw. 8.) CHAPTER 50.

An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to public health in London.

[31st July 1936]

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, follows:—

I Local Administration.

Part I.

Local Administration.

The county council and the sanitary authorities.

The county council and the sanitary authorities.

S-1 Administration of Act by county council and sanitary authorities.

1 Administration of Act by county council and sanitary authorities.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the local authorities for the purposes of this Act shall, in respect of certain matters, be the county council and, in respect of other matters, be the sanitary authorities.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act relating to the port health authority, the sanitary authorities for the purposes of this Act shall be—

(a ) as respects the city, the common council,

(b ) as respects the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, the respective overseers thereof, and

(c ) as respects a borough, the council of the borough;

and the area as respects which any authority are by this section constituted the sanitary authority, is in this Act referred to as ‘the district’ of that authority.

(3) References in this Act to the common council shall be construed as references to the mayor, commonalty and citizens of the city acting through the common council, and in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the expressions ‘borough’ and ‘borough council’ mean respectively a metropolitan borough and the council of a metropolitan borough.

S-2 General duty of sanitary authorities.

2 General duty of sanitary authorities.

2. It shall be the duty of every sanitary authority to cause inspection of their district to be made from time to time, with a view to ascertaining whether there exist therein any nuisances calling for abatement under this Act, and to enforce the provisions of this Act for the purpose of abating any such nuisances, and otherwise to exercise the powers of the authority relating to public health and local government, so as to secure that all premises within their district are in a proper sanitary condition.

S-3 Jurisdiction of sanitary authorities as to ships.

3 Jurisdiction of sanitary authorities as to ships.

(1) For the purposes of the provisions of this Act, other than those specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act, any vessel lying in a river or other water within the district of a sanitary authority shall (subject to the provisions of this Act with respect to the port health authority, and save as otherwise expressly provided by this Act) be subject to the jurisdiction of the sanitary authority in the same manner as if it were a house within their district and as if the master of the vessel were the occupier of the house.

(2) This section shall not apply to a vessel under the command or charge of an officer bearing His Majesty's commission, or to a vessel belonging to a foreign government.

S-4 Powers of committees of sanitary authorities.

4 Powers of committees of sanitary authorities.

4. Any committee appointed by a sanitary authority for the purposes of this Act may, subject to the terms of their appointment, serve and receive notices, take proceedings, and empower any officer of the sanitary authority to make complaints and take proceedings on their behalf and otherwise to enforce the provisions of this Act, other than those specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act; but nothing in this section shall be taken to prejudice any power to act through a committee which, apart from this section, is exercisable by a sanitary authority.

The port health authority.

The port health authority.

S-5 Port health authority of port of London.

5 Port health authority of port of London.

(1) The mayor, commonalty and citizens of the city shall be the port health authority of the port of London, and as such are in this Act referred to as ‘the port health authority.’

(2) References in any enactment passed before the commencement of this Act to the port sanitary authority of the port of London shall be construed as references to the port health authority.

S-6 Vesting of functions of sanitary authority in port health authority.

6 Vesting of functions of sanitary authority in port health authority.

(1) The Minister may by order vest in, or impose on, the port health authority, as respects all waters within the port of London, and as respects such districts or parts of districts of riparian authorities (if any) as may be specified in the order, any functions, rights or liabilities of a sanitary authority under any of the provisions of this Act other than those specified in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act, and any functions, rights or liabilities of a local authority under the Public Health Act, 1875 , with such modifications and additions (if any) as appear to the Minister to be necessary.

(2) Where any functions are vested in, or imposed on, the port health authority by an order made under this section, no other authority shall discharge those functions within the port of London:

Provided that the port health authority may, with the consent of the Minister, delegate to any riparian authority the exercise of any powers conferred on the port health authority by an order under this section.

(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, an order under this section may extend any of the provisions of this Act in relation to which subsection (1) of this section authorises the making of orders, or any byelaw made under any of those provisions, to all waters within the port of London and to such districts or parts of districts of riparian authorities (if any) as may be specified in the order, whether those waters, districts or parts are within or outside the county.

(4) In this section the expression ‘riparian authority’ means—

(a ) any sanitary authority, or any local authority for the purposes of the Public Health Act, 1875, being in either case an authority whose district or part of whose district forms part of, or abuts on, the port of London;

(b ) the Port of London Authority or any conservators, commissioners or other persons having jurisdiction over any part of the said Port.

Medical officers of health and sanitary inspectors.

Medical officers of health and sanitary inspectors.

S-7 County medical officers of health.

7 County medical officers of health.

(1) The county council may appoint one or more persons to be medical officer or officers of health for the county, and any such medical officer of health is in this Act referred to as a ‘county medical officer of health.’

(2) A person shall not be appointed a county medical officer of health unless he is a legally qualified medical practitioner and is registered in the medical register as the holder of a diploma in sanitary science, public health or state medicine.

(3) A county medical officer of health shall, for the purpose of discharging his functions, have the same powers of entry on premises as are conferred by or under this or any other Act on a medical officer of health for a borough.

S-8 District medical officers of health.

8 District medical officers of health.

(1) Every sanitary authority shall appoint one or more persons to be medical officer or officers of health for their district, and any such medical officer of health is in this Act referred to as a ‘district medical officer of health.’

(2) The same person may, with the consent of the Minister, be appointed district medical officer of health for two or more districts by the sanitary authorities of those districts; and the Minister shall prescribe the mode of appointing any such officer under this subsection and the proportions in which the expenses of the appointment and the salary and charges of the officer shall be borne by the sanitary authorities by whom he is appointed.

(3) A person shall not be appointed a district medical officer of health unless he is a legally qualified medical practitioner and is registered in the medical register as the holder of a diploma in sanitary science, public health or state medicine.

(4) Every district medical officer of health shall, except during the two months immediately following the date of his appointment or except in cases allowed by the Minister, reside in the district of the sanitary authority, or one of the districts of the sanitary authorities, by whom he was appointed, or within one mile of the boundary thereof, and if, while not so residing, he purports to act, or receives any remuneration, as a district medical officer of health, he shall cease to hold office.

(5) A district medical officer of health may exercise any of the powers of a sanitary inspector.

(6) The annual report made by a district medical officer of health to a borough council shall be appended to the annual report made by that council under section sixty-one of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1929 .

S-9 Sanitary inspectors.

9 Sanitary inspectors.

(1) Every sanitary authority shall appoint an adequate number of persons to be sanitary inspectors.

(2) If, on a representation made by the county council and after local inquiry, the Minister is satisfied that a sanitary authority have failed to appoint an adequate number of sanitary inspectors, he may by order require the sanitary authority to appoint such number of additional sanitary inspectors, and to allow them such remuneration, as may be specified in the order, and the sanitary authority shall comply with the order.

(3) A person shall not be appointed a sanitary...

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