Public Health Act 1848
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for promoting the Public Health. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 31 August 1848 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The first local boards were created under the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63). The aim of the act was to improve the sanitary condition of towns and populous places in England and Wales by placing: the supply of water; sewerage; drainage; cleansing; paving, and environmental health regulation under a single local body. The act could be applied to any place in England and Wales except the City of London and some other areas in the Metropolis already under the control of sewer commissioners.
The Act was passed by the Whig government of Lord John Russell, in response to the urging of Edwin Chadwick.[1] This was supported by reports, from the Royal Commission on the Health of Towns (formed in 1843)[2] and local branches of the Health of Towns Association (formed in 1844), of poor and insanitary conditions in many UK cities.[3]
General Board of Health
The act created a General Board of Health as a central authority to administer the act. There were three commissioners: the president of the board being the First Commissioner of Her Majesty's Woods and Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings, the other two members being appointed by warrant. The board was originally to be dissolved after five years, but acts of parliament were passed annually allowing for its continuation.
Chadwick was appointed a commissioner, and the board was strongly associated with him.
In 1852, Edward Gotto was employed to carry out the national General Board of Health Survey.[4]
The board finally ceased to exist on 1 September 1858.
Forming a local board of health
Local boards could be formed in two ways:
- By a petition of one-tenth of the inhabitants rated to relief of the poor in any city, town, borough (municipal or parliamentary), parish or place with a defined boundary not having less than 30 such qualified ratepayers.
- By the General Board if the death rate exceeded twenty-three in a thousand in any place.
In the latter case a superintending inspector appointed by the General Board would hold an inquiry into the sewerage, drainage, supply of water, state of burial grounds and other matters relating to the sanitary condition of the town, and where necessary define boundaries for the district of the local board.
Where the boundaries of a proposed local board's district were the same as an existing local unit, the act was applied by Order in Council. Where a new district was created this was done by provisional order of the General Board, confirmed by Parliament.[5]
Membership of a local board
Members of local boards were either:
- Selected by the corporations of municipal boroughs
- Elected by owners of property and by rate payers
Where a local board district coincided with a borough, or was entirely within a borough's limits, all the members were selected by the corporation. Where a district was entirely outside a municipality, all the members were elected. In districts which were partly in and partly outside a borough the board had a mixture of selected and elected members. Selected members did not have to be members of the corporation. Borough mayors were ex officio board members.
Those entitled to elect board members could have multiple votes depending on how much property they owned. This ranged from one vote for owners of property worth less than £50, to six votes for those holding more than £250 of property. It followed that board members were generally wealthy property owners or members of the professions.
Powers of a local board
The powers and duties of a local board of health were enumerated in the act:
- Employees: A local board of health was allowed to appoint a number of employees, including a surveyor, a clerk, a treasurer, and an officer of health (who had to be a qualified doctor). It was compulsory for the board to appoint an inspector of nuisances (sanitary inspector) to investigate complaints and take action against 'nuisances' (nuisances was a very broad concept encompassing a wide range of environmental public health problems: such as unsanitary dwellings, accumulations of refuse and sewage, smoke dust and smells and industrial emissions, polluted water, noise, adulterated food, slaughterhouse issues etc.).
- Sewers: The local board took over ownership of all public sewers in its district. Where private sewers operated for profit, the local board could purchase them.
- Street cleansing: The local board was required to clean the streets in its district, removing dust, ashes, rubbish, filth, dung and soil.
- Public lavatories: The local board could provide "public necessities" (as the act called them).
- Slaughterhouses: The local board was to regulate slaughterhouses, and was allowed to provide such facilities itself.
- Street paving: The local board took over the public streets in the district, and could also require that private streets be paved.
- Pleasure grounds: The local boards were allowed to provide and lay out pleasure grounds.
- Water supply: The local board was allowed to supply water, but only if a private company could not provide the service.
- Burials: The local board was allowed to provide houses for the reception of the dead prior to burial. They could also apply to the General Board to have an existing graveyard closed.
- Land: The local board could purchase land.