BRITAIN'S HEALTH

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 146, 22 June 1934, Page 9

BRITAIN'S HEALTH

MARKED" IMPROVEMENT

INFANT DEATH-RATE LOWER

MINISTRY'S EEPOET

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, June 20,

Reviewing the services of the Ministry of Healtli in the House of Commons, tho Minister, Sir Hilton Young, sad that between 1919, and 1934 the vote to the Ministry had increased by tho enormous figure of £58,000,000 to £71,000,000, but half of that increase was in respect of derating grants in accordance with the Act of 1929 and had nothing to do with social services. Eeferring to health matters, ho said that tho general death rato of the nation showed an encouraging downward'tendency and was 10 per cent, lower than five years, ago. Another encouraging proof of the value of health services was found in the reduction of tho infant death rate which, during the last ten years, had represented an annual saving of 40,000 more infants under one year old than at tho beginning of tho century. The improvement in the health of adults continued, and was most remarkable in tho case of typhoid fever, of which, in< 1932, there was only one case for every 22 at the beginning of the century. In the last ten years the death rate from tuberculosis had decreased by 22 per cent. Eef erring to the recent unanimous recommendation of a committee in favor of the sterilisation of the unfit, he said its report was at present, being considered by national churches and other organisations, for the Government must be qnite sure that it made no proposal ' which offended the national conscience. - WATER SUPPLIES. Turning to the question of water supplies, ,he said that the difficulties were not due to the present dry summer but to the lack of water in the winter and spring. Urban supplies were fairly good. Emergency measures had been in active progress wherever needed, but the:voluntary co-operation .of.-the public in economising with water was 'largely responsible for the satisfactory position regarding urban supplies. There were great difficulties in specified ; rural; areas and^unless there was an unforeseeable rainfall within (the next few weeks those difficulties would increase ,in August and' September. There was no general nationwide remedy, but county councils were being stimulated where necessary to help rural areas and the assistance of special officers of the Ministry would be forthcoming in areas where the situation was'not serious.

On tho subject of housing, ho said that a remarkable rate of progress in slum clearance had been achieved, and he believed they would achieve the programme laid out in the recent White Pajicr in tho course of the next five years. Referring to the great building boom, he said that houses were being built at tho rate of 300,000 annually, aud small houses for lower-paid earners at' the rate of 155,000 annually.