§ MR. BOULTON (Huntingdonshire, Ramsey)To ask the President of the Local Government Board if the Board received a report some two years ago on the sanitary conditions of Ramsey and the bad drinking water in the town; if such report was made by a member of the Royal Sanitary Institute, and if it was practically of the same character as the report recently issued by the medical officer of health of the Hunts County Council, wherein it was stated that there was no drinking water in the town fit for use, and that the sanitary arrangements were insanitary and dangerous; if complaints have been sent to the Local Government Board by residents of Ramsey; and, if so, why the Local Government Board has disregarded these 640 complaints and report, and not taken action to compel the council to carry out the law.
(Answered by Mr. John Burns.) The Local Government Board received a copy of a report which was obtained by the Rural Housing and Sanitation Association in 1906 from an associate of the Royal Sanitary Institute as to the condition of certain houses in Ramsey, and which contained some observations as to the need of sewerage and water supply in the district. A copy of this report was also sent to the district council. Some complaint of nuisance was made by a resident in the town and the Board communicated with the district council with regard to the matter, but they have not received any such complaint of default on the part of the district council with respect to sewerage and water supply as would enable them to take compulsory action under the Public Health Act. I am, however, giving attention to the sanitary condition of the place.