Where a sanitary convenience is used in common by the members of two or more families, the following provisions shall have effect:—
(a) if any person injures or improperly fouls the convenience, or anything used in connection therewith, or wilfully or by negligence causes an obstruction in the drain therefrom, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale;
(b) if the convenience, or the approach thereto, is, for want of proper cleansing or attention, in such a condition as to be insanitary, such of the persons having the use thereof in common as are in default, or, in the absence of satisfactory proof as to which of them is in default, each of them, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale, and to a further fine not exceeding £2 for each day on which the offence continues after conviction therefor.
(1) If any court, yard or passage which is used in common by the occupants of two or more buildings, but is not a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large, is not regularly swept and kept clean and free from rubbish or other accumulation to the satisfaction of the local authority, the authority may cause it to be swept and cleansed.
(2) The local authority may recover any expenses reasonably incurred by them under this section from the occupiers of the buildings which front or abut on the court or yard, or to which the passage affords access, in such proportions as may be determined by the authority, or, in case of dispute, by a court of summary jurisdiction.
79 [Power to require removal of noxious matter by occupier of premises in urban district.
(1) If in a borough or district, or in a rural district or contributory place in which section forty-nine of the Public Health Act 1875, was in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, it appears to the proper officer of the authority that any accumulation of noxious matter ought to be removed, he shall serve notice on the owner thereof, or on the occupier of the premises on which it is found, requiring him to remove it, and, if the notice is not complied with within twenty-four hours after service thereof, the inspector may remove the matter referred to.
(2) A local authority may recover the expenses of any action reasonably taken by their inspector under the preceding sub-section from the owner or occupier in default.]
80 [Power to require periodical removal of manure, &c. from stables, &c. in urban district.
(1) In a borough or district, and in a rural district or contributory place in which section fifty of the Public Health Act 1875 was in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, the local authority may by public or other notice require the periodical removal, at such intervals as may be specified in the notice, of manure or refuse from mews, stables or other premises.
(2) If a person on whom a notice has been served under this section fails to comply therewith, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.]
81 Byelaws for the prevention of certain nuisances.
A local authority may make byelaws for preventing—
(a) the occurrence of nuisances from snow, filth, dust, ashes and rubbish;
(b) the keeping of animals so as to be prejudicial to health.
82 Byelaws as to removal through streets of offensive matter or liquid.
(1) A local authority may make byelaws—
(a) prescribing the times for the removal, or carriage through the streets, of any fæcal or offensive or noxious matter or liquid, whether that matter or liquid is in course of removal or carriage from within, or from without, or through, their district;
(b) requiring that the receptacle or vehicle used for the removal or carriage of any such matter or liquid shall be properly constructed and covered so as to prevent the escape of any such matter or liquid;
(c) requiring the cleansing of any place whereon any such matter or liquid has been dropped or split in the course of removal or carriage.
(2) If and so far as a byelaw made under the preceding sub-section is inconsistent with an order under section 6 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 the order shall prevail.
(1) Where a local authority, upon consideration of a report from any of their officers, or other information in their possession, are satisfied that any premises—
(a) are in such a filthy or unwholesome condition as to be prejudicial to health, or
(b) are verminous,
the local authority shall give notice to the owner or occupier of the premises requiring him to take such steps as may be specified in the notice to remedy the condition of the premises by cleansing and disinfecting them, and the notice may require among other things the removal of wallpaper or other covering of the walls, or, in the case of verminous premises, the taking of such steps as may be necessary for destroying or removing vermin.
(1A) A notice under the foregoing subsection may require—
(a) the interior surface of premises used for human habitation or as shops or offices to be papered, painted or distempered, and
(b) the interior surface of any other premises to be painted, distempered or whitewashed,
and shall allow the person on whom the notice is served, or the local authority acting in his default, to choose, in a case under paragraph (a) of this subsection, between papering, painting and distempering and, in a case under paragraph (b) of this subsection, between painting, distempering and whitewashing.
(2) If a person on whom a notice under this section is served fails to comply with the requirements thereof, the authority may themselves carry out the requirements and recover from him the expenses reasonably incurred by them in so doing, and, without prejudice to the right of the authority to exercise that power, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale and to a further fine not exceeding £2 for each day on which the offence continues after conviction therefor:
Provided that in any proceedings under this subsection it shall be open to the defendant to question the reasonableness of the authority’s requirements or of their decision to address their notice to him and not to the occupier or, as the case may be, the owner of the premises.
(3) Where a local authority take action under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, their notice may require that they shall be allowed to employ gas for the purpose of destroying vermin on the premises, but in that case the notice shall be served both on the owner and on the occupier of the premises, and the authority shall bear the cost of their operations and may provide temporary shelter or house accommodation for any person compelled to leave the premises by reason of their operations.
(4) This section shall not apply to any premises forming part of a factory or of a mine or quarry within the meaning of the Mines and Quarries Act 1954.
84 Cleansing or destruction of filthy or verminous articles.
Where it appears to a local authority upon a certificate of the proper officer of the authority that any article in any premises—
(a) is in so filthy a condition as to render its cleansing, purification or destruction necessary in order to prevent injury, or danger of injury, to the health of any person in the premises; or
(b) is verminous, or by reason of its having been used by, or having been in contact with, any verminous person is likely to be verminous,
the local authority shall cause that article to be cleansed, purified, disinfected or destroyed, as the case may require, at their expense and, if necessary for that purpose, to be removed from the premises.
85 Cleansing of verminous persons and their clothing.
(1) Upon the application of any person, a county council or a local authority may take such measures as are, in their opinion, necessary to free him and his clothing from vermin.
(2) Where it appears to a county council or a local authority, upon a report from the proper officer of the authority, that any person, or the clothing of any person, is verminous, then, if that person consents to be removed to a cleansing station, they may cause him to be removed to such a station, and, if he does not so consent, they may apply to a court of summary jurisdiction, and the court, if satisfied that it is necessary that he or his clothing should be cleansed, may make an order for his removal to such a station and for his detention therein for such period and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order.
(3) Where a person has been removed to a cleansing station in pursuance of the last preceding subsection, the county council or local authority shall take such measures as may, in their opinion, be necessary to free him and his clothing from vermin.
(4) The cleansing of females under this section shall be carried out only by a registered medical practitioner, or by a woman duly authorised by the proper officer of the authority.
(5) Any consent required to be given for the purposes of this section may, in the case of a person under the age of sixteen years, be given on his behalf by his parent or guardian.
(6) No charge shall be made in respect of the cleansing of a person or his clothing, or in respect of his removal to, or maintenance in, a cleansing station under this section.
(7) The powers conferred on a county council or local authority by this section shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any power in relation to the cleansing of children which may be exercisable by them under Chapter 2 of Part 9 of the Education Act 1996.
A county council or local authority may provide such cleansing stations as may be necessary for the discharge of their functions under any of the three last preceding sections.
(1) A county council in England, a local authority in England or a parish ... council may, subject to subsection (2) of this section, provide sanitary conveniences in proper and convenient situations.
(2) Any such council or authority shall not provide any such convenience in or under a highway or proposed highway for which they are not the highway authority without the consent of the highway authority.
(3) Any such council or authority who provide any public sanitary conveniences, may—
(a) make byelaws as to the conduct of persons using or entering them;
(b) let them for such term, at such rent, and subject to such conditions as they think fit;
(c) charge such fees for the use of any such conveniences ... as they think fit.
(4) In this section the expression “sanitary conveniences” includes lavatories.
(1) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say—
“cesspool” includes a settlement tank or other tank for the reception or disposal of foul matter from buildings;
“closet” includes privy;
“earthcloset” means a closet having a moveable receptable for the reception of fæcal matter and its deodorisation by the use of earth, ashes or chemicals, or by other methods;
“joint sewerage board” includes any authority or committee constituted for the purpose of collecting and dealing with the contents of sewers from the districts of two or more local authorities;
“sanitary conveniences” means closets and urinals;
. . .
“surface water” includes water from roofs;
“vermin,” in its application to insects and parasites, includes their eggs, larvæ and pupæ, and the expression “verminous” shall be construed accordingly; and
“watercloset” means a closet which has a separate fixed receptacle connected to a drainage system and separate provision for flushing from a supply of clean water either by the operation of mechanism or by automatic action.
(2) For the purposes of this Part of this Act except sections 61 to 71 and any other enactment to which section 74(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies, any of the following operations shall be deemed to be the erection of a building, that is to say—
(i) the re-erection of any building or part of a building when an outer wall of that building or, as the case may be, that part of a building has been pulled down, or burnt down, to within ten feet of the surface of the ground adjoining the lowest storey of the building or of that part of the building;
(ii) the re-erection of any frame building or part of a frame building when that building or part of a building has been so far pulled down, or burnt down, as to leave only the framework of the lowest storey of the building or of that part of the building.
(iii) the roofing over of any open space between walls or buildings;
and the word “erect” shall be construed accordingly.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) Any reference in this Part of this Act to a drain or to a sewer shall be construed as including a reference to any manholes, ventilating shafts, pumps or other accessories belonging to that drain or sewer, . . .
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
124 Certain public pumps, wells, cisterns, &c. vested in local authority.
(1) All public pumps, wells, cisterns, reservoirs, conduits, and other works used for the gratuitous supply of water to the inhabitants of any part of the district of a local authority shall vest in and be under the control of the authority, and the authority may cause the works to be maintained and supplied with wholesome water, or may substitute, maintain and supply with wholesome water other such works equally convenient.
(2) If the local authority are satisfied that any such works are no longer required, or that the water obtained from any such works is polluted and that it is not reasonably practicable to remedy the cause of the pollution, they may close those works or restrict the use of the water obtained therefrom.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
125 Power of parish council to utilise wells, springs or streams for obtaining water.
(1) A parish council may utilise any well, spring or stream within their parish and provide facilities for obtaining water therefrom, and may execute any works, including works of maintenance or improvement, incidental to, or consequential on, any exercise of that power:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as authorising them to interfere with the rights of any person, or as restricting, in the case of a public well or other works, any powers of the local authority under the last preceding section.
(2) A parish council may contribute towards the expenses incurred by any other parish council, or by any other person, in doing anything authorised by the preceding subsection.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
140 Power to close, or restrict use of water from, polluted source of supply.
(1) If a local authority are of opinion that the water in or obtained from any well, tank or other source of supply not vested in them, being water which is, or is likely to be, used for domestic purposes, or in the preparation of food or drink for human consumption, is, or is likely to become, so polluted as to be prejudicial to health, the authority may apply to a court of summary jurisdiction and thereupon a summons may be issued to the owner or occupier of the premises to which the source of supply belongs, or to any other person alleged in the application to have control thereof.
(2) Upon the hearing of the summons, the court may make an order directing the source of supply to be permanently or temporarily closed or cut off, or the water thereform to be used for certain purposes only, or such other order as appears to the court to be necessary to prevent injury or danger to the health of persons using the water, or consuming food or drink prepared therewith or therefrom.
The court shall hear any user of the water who claims to be heard, and may cause the water to be analysed at the cost of the local authority.
(3) If a person on whom an order is made under this section fails to comply therewith, the court may, on the application of the local authority, authorise them to do whatever may be necessary for giving effect to the order, and any expenses reasonably incurred by the authority in so doing may be recovered by them from the person in default.
Any well, tank, cistern, or water-butt used for the supply of water for domestic purposes which is so placed, constructed or kept as to render the water therein liable to contamination prejudicial to health, shall be a statutory nuisance for the purposes of Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
143 Power of Minister to make regulations with a view to the treatment of certain diseases, and for preventing the spread of such diseases.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Minister may, as respects the whole or any part of England and Wales, including the coastal waters thereof, make regulations—
(a) with a view to the treatment of persons affected with any epidemic, endemic or infectious disease and for preventing the spread of such diseases;
(b) for preventing danger to public health from vessels or aircraft arriving at any place; and
(c) for preventing the spread of infection by means of any vessel or aircraft leaving any place, so far as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of carrying out any treaty, convention, arrangement or engagement with any other country;
and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words, may by any such regulations apply, with or without modifications, to any disease to which the regulations relate any enactment (including any enactment in this Act) relating to the notification of disease or to notifiable diseases:
Provided that, before making regulations under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of this subsection, the Minister shall consult, in the case of vessels, the Board of Trade and, in the case of aircraft, the Board of Trade.
(2) Regulations made under this section may provide for—
(a) the signals to be displayed by vessels or aircraft having on board any case of epidemic, endemic or infectious disease;
(b) the questions to be answered by masters, pilots and other persons on board any vessel or aircraft as to cases of such disease on board during the voygage or on arrival;
(c) the detention of vessels or aircraft and of persons on board them;
(d) the duties to be performed in cases of such diseases by masters, pilots, and other persons on board vessels or aircraft;
and may authorise the making of charges and provide for the recovery of such charges and of any expenses incurred in disinfection.
(3) Regulations made under this section shall specify the authorities, whether county councils, local authorities . . . port health authorities, Regional Health Authorities, Area Health Authorities or special health authorities by whom they are to be enforced and executed, and may also provide for their enforcement and execution by officers of customs and excise and officers and men employed in the coastguard:
Provided that regulations so made shall require—
(i) so far as they apply to officers of customs and excise, the consent of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;
(ii) so far as they apply to officers or men employed in the coast-guard, the consent of the Secretary of State and the Board of Trade;
(iii) So far as they apply to signals, in the case of vessels, the consent of the Board of Trade and, in the case of aircraft, the consent of the Board of Trade.
(4) Authorised officers of any such authority, officers of customs and excise and officers and men employed in the coast-guard shall have power to enter any premises, vessel, or aircraft for the purpose of executing, or superintending the execution of, any such regulations as aforesaid.
(5) Any person who wilfully neglects or refuses to obey or carry out, or obstructs the execution of, any regulations made by the Minister under this section shall, in a case where no provision is made by the regulations for his punishment, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every day on which the offence continues after conviction therefor.
(6) Any expenses incurred by a county council under this section shall, if the Minister by order so directs, be defrayed as expenses for special county purposes charged on such part of the county as may be provided by the order, but any such order may be revoked or varied by a subsequent order.
(7) Regulations made under this section shall be laid before Parliament and shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament..
(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(9) His Majesty may by Order in Council direct that the provisions of subsections (1) to (7) of this section, so far as they relate to regulations (including regulations as to quarantine) with respect to matters with respect to which the Parliament of Northern Ireland has no power to make laws, shall extend to Northern Ireland, subject to such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the Order.
(10) His Majesty may by Order in Council direct that regulations made under this section, other than regulations for purposes mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) which will be operative on land, shall extend to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the Order, and for the purposes of any such Order the provisions of subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall be deemed to form part of the regulations.