Office of Public Sector Information

25 Library books

(1)A person who knows that he is suffering from a notifiable disease shall not take any book, or cause any book to be taken for his use, or use any book taken, from any public or circulating library.

(2)A person shall not permit any book which has been taken from a public or circulating library, and is under his control, to be used by any person whom he knows to be suffering from a notifiable disease.

(3)A person shall not return to any public or circulating library a book which he knows to have been exposed to infection from a notifiable disease, or permit any such book which is under his control to be so returned, but shall give notice to the local authority, or, in the case of a library provided by a county council, to that council, that the book has been so exposed to infection.

(4)A local authority or, as the case may be, a county council on receiving such a notice shall cause the book to be disinfected and returned to the library, or shall cause it to be destroyed.

(5)A person who contravenes any of the provisions of subsections (1)

and (3) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

26 Infectious matter not to be placed in dustbins

(1)A person who places, or causes or permits to be placed, in a dustbin or ashpit any matter which he knows to have been exposed to infection from a notifiable disease, and which has not been disinfected, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

(2)The local authority shall give notice of the provisions of this section to the occupier of any house in which they are aware that there is a person suffering from a notifiable disease.

(3)If the local authority are requested to do so by the occupier of any premises in Greater London in which there is a person suffering from a notifiable disease, they shall provide for the removal and disinfection or destruction of any rubbish that has been exposed to infection from that disease.

27 Provision of disinfecting stations

A local authority may provide a disinfecting station and may cause any article brought there to be disinfected free of charge.

Infected premises

28 Prohibition of certain work on premises where notifiable disease exists

(1)If a case of a notifiable disease occurs on any premises, then, whether the person suffering from the disease has been removed from the premises or not, the local authority for the district may make an order forbidding any work to which this section applies to be given out to any person living or working on those premises, or on such part of them as may be specified in the order; and any order so made may be served on the occupier of any factory or other place from which work is given out, or on any contractor employed by any such occupier.

(2)An order under this section may be expressed—

(a)to operate for a specified time or until the premises or any part of them specified in the order have been disinfected to the satisfaction of the local authority, or

(b)to be inoperative so long as any other reasonable precautions specified in the order are taken.

(3)If any occupier or contractor on whom an order under this section has been served contravenes the provisions of the order, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

(4)This section applies to the making, cleaning, washing, altering, ornamenting, finishing or repairing of wearing apparel and any incidental work, and to such other classes of work as may be specified by order of the Secretary of State.

(5)The power of the Secretary of State to make orders under subsection (4) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.

29 Letting of house or room after recent case of notifiable disease

(1)If a person who—

(a)is concerned in the letting of a house or part of a house, or in showing a house or part of a house with a view to its being let, or

(b)has recently ceased to occupy a house or part of a house,

is questioned by any person negotiating for the hire of the house or any part of it as to whether there is, or has been within the preceding six weeks, in any part of the house a person suffering from a notifiable disease, and knowingly makes a false answer to that question, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

(2)A person who lets any house or part of a house in which a person has to his knowledge been suffering from a notifiable disease without having the house, or the part of the house, and all articles in it liable to retain infection, properly disinfected shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(3)The keeper of a hotel or inn who allows a room in it in which a person has to his knowledge been suffering from a notifiable disease to be occupied by any other person before the room and all articles in it liable to retain infection have been properly disinfected shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(4)In this section and in section 30 below, “properly disinfected” means disinfected to the satisfaction of the proper officer of the local authority for the district or a registered medical practioner, as testified by a certificate signed by him.

30 Duty on ceasing to occupy house after recent case of notifiable disease

(1)If a person ceases to occupy a house or part of a house in which to his knowledge a person has within six weeks previously been suffering from a notifiable disease and either—

(a)he fails to have the house, or the part of the house, and all articles in it liable to retain infection, properly disinfected, or

(b)he fails to give to the owner of the house, or the part of the house, notice of the previous existence of the disease, or

(c)on being questioned by the owner as to whether within the preceding six weeks there has been in it any person suffering from any notifiable disease, he makes a false answer,

he shall be liable on summary conviction—

(i)in the case of an offence under paragraph (a) or (b) above, to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale, or

(ii)in the case of an offence under paragraph (c), to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

(2)The local authority shall give notice of the provisions of this section to the occupier and also to the owner of any house in which they are aware that there is a person suffering from a notifiable disease.

31 Disinfection of premises

(1)If, on a certificate of the proper officer of the local authority for a district, the local authority are satisfied that the cleansing and disinfection of any premises, and the disinfection or destruction of any articles there likely to retain infection, would tend to prevent the spread of any infectious disease, the authority shall give notice to the occupier of the premises that they will at his cost—

(a)cleanse and disinfect the premises, and

(b)disinfect or, as the case may require, destroy any such articles,

unless, within 24 hours after the receipt of the notice, he informs them that within a time to be fixed by the notice he will take such steps as are specified in it.

(2)If—

(a)within 24 hours after receipt of the notice the person to whom it is given does not so inform the authority, or

(b)having so informed the authority, he fails to take the specified steps to the satisfaction of the proper officer within the time fixed by the notice,

the authority may cause the premises to be cleansed and disinfected and the articles to be disinfected or destroyed, as the case may require, and may, if they think fit, recover from him the expenses reasonably incurred by them in doing so; and any such expenses may be so recovered as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(3)Where the occupier of any premises is in the opinion of the local authority unable effectually to take such steps as they consider necessary, they may, without giving such notice but with his consent, take the necessary steps at their own cost.

(4)Where a local authority have under this section disinfected any premises or article or destroyed any article, they may if they think fit pay compensation to any person who has suffered damage by their action.

(5)For the purposes of this section, the owner of unoccupied premises shall be deemed to be in occupation of them.

32 Removal of person from infected house

(1)Where any infectious disease occurs in a house, or the local authority deem it necessary to disinfect any house, the authority may, on a certificate of the proper officer of the local authority for the district—

(a)cause any person who is not himself sick and who consents to leave the house, or whose parent or guardian, where the person is a child, consents to his leaving the house, to be removed to any temporary shelter or house accommodation provided by the authority, or

(b)cause any such person to be so removed without any consent, if a justice of the peace (acting, if he deems it necessary, ex parte) is satisfied, on the application of the authority, of the necessity for the removal and makes an order for the removal, subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order.

(2)The local authority shall in every case cause the removal to be effected, and the conditions of any order to be satisfied, without charge to the person removed, or to the parent or guardian of that person.

(3)A local authority may provide temporary shelter or house accommodation for the purposes of this section.

Public conveyances

33 Use of public conveyance by person with notifiable disease

(1)No person who knows that he is suffering from a notifiable disease shall—

(a)enter any public conveyance used for the conveyance of persons at separate fares, or

(b)enter any other public conveyance without previously notifying the owner or driver that he is so suffering.

(2)No person having the care of a person whom he knows to be suffering from a notifiable disease shall permit that person to be carried—

(a)in any public conveyance used for the conveyance of persons at separate fares, or

(b)in any other public conveyance without previously informing the owner or driver that that person is so suffering.

(3)A person who contravenes any provision of this section—

(a)shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale, and

(b)in addition to any fine imposed, shall be ordered by the court to pay to any person concerned with the conveyance as owner, driver or conductor a sum sufficient to cover any loss and expense incurred by him in connection with the disinfection of the conveyance in accordance with section 34 below.

34 Duty of owner, driver or conductor of public conveyance

(1)The owner, driver or conductor of a public conveyance used for the conveyance of passengers at separate fares shall not convey in it a person whom he knows to be suffering from a notifiable disease.

(2)The owner or driver of any public conveyance may refuse to convey in it any person suffering from a notifiable disease until he has been paid a sum sufficient to cover any loss and expense which will be incurred by reason of the provisions of subsection (3) below.

(3)If a person suffering from a notifiable disease is conveyed in a public conveyance, the person in charge of the conveyance shall—

(a)as soon as practicable give notice to the local authority for the district in which the conveyance is usually kept, and

(b)before permitting any other person to enter the conveyance, cause it to be disinfected,

and any person concerned with the conveyance as its owner, driver or conductor may recover summarily as a civil debt from the person so conveyed, or from the person causing that person to be so conveyed, a sufficient sum to cover any loss and expense incurred by him.

(4)A person who contravenes any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

(5)The local authority, when so requested by the person in charge of a public conveyance in which a person suffering from a notifiable disease has been conveyed, shall provide for its disinfection, and shall make no charge for the disinfection except in a case where the owner, driver or conductor conveyed a person knowing that he was suffering from a notifiable disease.

Infectious persons

35 Medical examination

(1)If a justice of the peace (acting, if he deems it necessary, ex parte) is satisfied, on a written certificate issued by a registered medical practitioner nominated by the local authority for a district—

(a)that there is reason to believe that some person in the district—

(i)is or has been suffering from a notifiable disease, or

(ii)though not suffering from such a disease, is carrying an organism that is capable of causing it, and

(b)that in his own interest, or in the interest of his family, or in the public interest, it is expedient that he should be medically examined, and

(c)that he is not under the treatment of a registered medical practitioner or that the registered medical practitioner who is treating him consents to the making of an order under this section,

the justice may order him to be medically examined by a registered medical practitioner so nominated.

(2)An order under this section may be combined with a warrant under subsection (3) of section 61 below authorising a registered medical practitioner nominated by the local authority to enter any premises, and for the purposes of that subsection that practitioner shall, if not an officer of the local authority, be treated as one.

(3)In this section, references to a person’s being medically examined shall be construed as including references to his being submitted to bacteriological and radiological tests and similar investigations.

36 Medical examination of group of persons believed to comprise carrier of notifiable disease

(1)If a justice of the peace (acting, if he deems it necessary, ex parte) is satisfied, on a written certificate issued by the proper officer of the local authority for a district—

(a)that there is reason to believe that one of a group of persons, though not suffering from a notifiable disease, is carrying an organism that is capable of causing it, and

(b)that in the interest of those persons or their families, or in the public interest, it is expedient that those persons should be medically examined,

the justice may order them to be medically examined by a registered medical practitioner nominated by the local authority for that district.

(2)Subsections (2)

and (3) of section 35 above apply in relation to subsection (1) above as they apply in relation to subsection (1) of that section.

37 Removal to hospital of person with notifiable disease

(1)Where a justice of the peace (acting, if he deems it necessary, ex parte) is satisfied, on the application of the local authority, that a person is suffering from a notifiable disease and—

(a)that his circumstances are such that proper precautions to prevent the spread of infection cannot be taken, or that such precautions are not being taken, and

(b)that serious risk of infection is thereby caused to other persons, and

(c)that accommodation for him is available in a suitable hospital vested in the Secretary of State [F1or, pursuant to arrangements made by a [F2Health Authority][F3or Primary Care Trust] (whether under an NHS contract or otherwise), in a suitable hospital vested in a NHS trust [F3, Primary Care Trust] or other person],

the justice may, with the consent [F4mentioned in subsection (1A) below], order him to be removed to it.

[F5(1A)The consent referred to in subsection (1) above is that of a Primary Care Trust or Health Authority—

(a)any part of whose area falls within that of the local authority, and

(b)which appears to the local authority to be an appropriate Primary Care Trust or Health Authority from whom to obtain consent.]

(2)An order under this section may be addressed to such officer of the local authority as the justice may think expedient, and that officer and any officer of the hospital may do all acts necessary for giving effect to the order.

38 Detention in hospital of person with notifiable disease

(1)Where a justice of the peace (acting, if he deems it necessary, ex parte) in and for the place in which a hospital for infectious diseases is situated is satisfied, on the application of any local authority, that an inmate of the hospital who is suffering from a notifiable disease would not on leaving the hospital be provided with lodging or accommodation in which proper precautions could be taken to prevent the spread of the disease by him, the justice may order him to be detained in the hospital.

(2)An order made under subsection (1) above may direct detention for a period specified in the order, but any justice of the peace acting in and for the same place may extend a period so specified as often as it appears to him to be necessary to do so.

(3)Any person who leaves a hospital contrary to an order made under this section for his detention there shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale, and the court may order him to be taken back to the hospital

(4)An order under this section may be addressed—

(a)in the case of an order for a person’s detention, to such officer of the hospital, and

(b)in the case of an order made under subsection (3) above, to such officer of the local authority on whose application the order for detention was made,

as the justice may think expedient, and that officer and any officer of the hospital may do all acts necessary for giving effect to the order.

Common lodging–houses

39 Keeper of common lodging–house to notify case of infectious disease

(1)Where a person in a common lodging–house is suffering from any infectious disease, the keeper of the lodging–house shall immediately give notice of the case to the local authority for the district.

(2)A keeper of a lodging–house who fails to comply with subsection (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction 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.

(3)The local authority within whose district a common lodging–house is situated shall, if possible on the day on which they receive a notice under subsection (1) above and in any case within 48 hours after the receipt of the notice, send a copy of the notice to the [F1Primary Care Trust or][F2Health Authority within whose area] that lodging–house is situated.

40 Medical examination of inmates of common lodging–house

If the proper officer of a local authority has reasonable grounds for believing that there is in a common lodging–house a person who is suffering, or has recently suffered, from a notifiable disease, he may make complaint thereof upon oath to a justice of the peace, and thereupon the justice may by warrant authorise him to enter the lodging–house and examine any person found in it with a view to ascertaining whether he is suffering, or has recently suffered, from a notifiable disease.

41 Removal to hospital of inmate of common lodging–house with notifiable disease

(1)If a local authority are satisfied—

(a)that a person lodging in a common lodging–house is suffering from a notifiable disease, and

(b)that serious risk of infection is thereby caused to other persons, and

(c)that accommodation for him is available in a suitable hospital vested in the Secretary of State [F1or, pursuant to arrangements made by a [F2Health Authority][F3or Primary Care Trust] (whether under an NHS contract or otherwise) in a suitable hospital vested in an NHS trust [, Primary Care Trust] or any other person],

they may, with the consent of the . . . [F5F4Primary Care Trust or Health Authority in whose area the common lodging-house is situated], order him to be removed to the hospital.

(2)The officer of the local authority to whom an order under this section is addressed and any officer of the hospital in question may do all acts necessary for giving effect to the order.

42 Closure of common lodging–house on account of notifiable disease

(1)If, on the application of a local authority, a magistrates’ court is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of the public health that a common lodging–house should be closed on account of the existence, or recent occurrence, in it of a case of notifiable disease, the court may make an order directing the lodging–house to be closed until it is certified by the proper officer of the local authority for the district to be free from infection.

(2)Any person who fails to comply with an order under subsection (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction 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.

Death of person suffering from notifiable disease

43 Person dying in hosptial with notifiable disease

(1)If—

(a)a person dies in hospital while suffering from a notifiable disease, and

(b)the proper officer of the local authority for the district or a registered medical practitioner certifies that in his opinion it is desirable, in order to prevent the spread of infection, that the body should not be removed from the hospital except for the purpose of being taken direct to a mortuary or being forthwith buried or cremated,

it shall not be lawful for any person to remove the body from the hospital except for such a purpose.

(2)In any such case, when the body is removed for the purpose of burial or cremation from the hospital or any mortuary to which it has been taken, it shall forthwith be taken direct to some place of burial or crematorium and there buried or cremated.

(3)A person who contravenes any provision of this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.