Housing Visitors Report for the month ending 31st March 1973

Ladywell, Howden, Barclayway.

[Tenant] [address] This tenant came at the beginning of the month. They have had difficulties over unpaid bills at their previous address. He was educated at a ‘Backward School’ and is ready to accept advice and help; his wife gets into a panic when confronted with things she cannot cope with. They have been given help with their rent rebate, furniture and taken to the SSEB Bathgate to arrange weekly payments (of their electricity bills). They are also paying rent on a weekly basis for the time being. He is now working regularly, but it will require friendly visits until a routine of paying bills is established. They have also had assistance with clothing.

[Tenant] [address] This young couple of six children, the eldest of whom is six. He frequently changes his job involving ‘lie-time’ which gives them no chance to budget on a regular basis. The family is known to the SWD, there are rent arrears, and although visits seem indicated, she is showing opposition to this.

[Tenant] [address] This woman is separated from her husband and coping with her family herself. She is in a very depressed state, mainly because her daughter is in a home being a Spastic/Epileptic and only capable of leading a vegetable existence. There is a teenage daughter unsettled at her work and causing her mother concern. There is a younger daughter who is again not attending school regularly, but I have the feeling that this has the mother’s approval, for some reason. She wants to bring her daughter home to stay, but this seems totally impracticable because of the girl’s health and [the tenant’s] health. I am of the opinion it would cause further disruption between the girls. It would seem a better solution to have the eldest daughter transferred to a Home nearer at hand where her mother could visit her oftener and the St Vincent De Paul are making moves in this direction.  

(this post has been edited to comply with data protection)

Housing Visitor Report for the Month Ending the 28th February, 1973.

Craigshill and Deans

This month I had a four day absence from work and consequently visited 138 tenants, 49 of these being new to the town, the rest included in two surveys we are carrying out at present. The surveys brought me into contact with many people I might not otherwise have met until some distant future date and about 80% of these people had problems they wished to discuss – mostly relatively minor and easily dealt with, never-the-less this slowed down both the survey and the visiting of new tenants.

The foremost problem of the month came from Deans where tenants are awaiting with trepidation the arrival of their electricity bills. [A tenant] and friend from two doors away drew my attention to this, though others followed. In [the tenant’s ] case, the Electricity Board representative had called and explained that she would need to pay £14 per month to run her heating (electricity warm air system) which only heats the lower regions of the house. Upstairs she has one night storage heater and the Electricity Board Rep warned her that she was better not to use this as the monthly payment would have to be higher still. [The Tenant] is in a five apartment house, so far the seven apartments in the area have not come to my attention as they have not been let.  [Another tenant] has the same system with just one storage heater upstairs which certainly does not heat the whole upper floor, she tells me her bill is going to top £50 for 3 months (and the house has not really been warm) since she has read her meter weekly and then calculated the cost. She is a very worried woman, as are others I spoke to.

I am still in some doubt as to who is responsible for elderly people and disabled people’s gardens. When Councillor Duggan raised this matter at a recent Old Peoples’ Welfare Committee meeting he was told LDC would investigate, although when I raised the question Mr Leitch concerning a tenant on Melbourne Street, and his garden I was told that this was a matter for Mr Drummond who in turn told me the matter was a question for the property department of the LDC. Perhaps it would be possible to raise the questions – could disabled persons have their invalid carriages garaged at a cheaper rate? These small contraptions appear to be a target for petrol pilferers and hooligans looking for something ot damage and they are of course a necessity in the life of these crippled people.

A tenant on Brisbane street has at last succumbed to the efforts of Mr Leitch and myself and has ‘cleaned’ up her house. The house is still very iffused, full of condensation and dirty but in comparison to last we week we had to admit there had been some improvement. She also paid a further £10 off her rent arrears.

Arrangements have been made with Miss Sill for one of her visitors to call on a [named tenant] in the evenings to help ease her loneliness problems.

A tenant on Spruce Grove has been supplied with a wardrobe and dressing table since she was short of these two articles and has a big family, she is trying very hard to please us.

The most problematic case in Craigshill is that of XXXX. In six months she has only paid £21 rent and with legal fees now owes us £70. I have taken her into the Mall office to discuss the situation with Mr Leitch but her story is very incomprehensible. It appears her husband is... [away]  and hasn’t been sending her money. Throughout the six months that I have visited the girl I have not heard a really coherent version of what is going on and I rather think there is some dire marital difficult here. She has a baby, her house is very clean and well furnished. Mr Leitch and I are awaiting the outcome of our conversation with her which ended in her saying she would try to pay us £41 these weekend the 2^nd March 1973.

Throughout the past months I have been trying to forestall this situation by calling on her because I felt there was going to be a problem here, she does not appear to fully realise her financial predicament, or alternatively she is so worried by the circumstances that the financial problem is insignificant. I am worried about what is going to happen here.

There have been problems with newcomers in Craigshill this month, one a hysterical woman with shattered nerves – I called in the Doctor and she was given tranquilisers with good effect, I am calling regularly to see her meantime. The other problem was marital difficulties for [a named tenant]. This problem could be sorted out now after a long talk with her, she has our card and phone number in order to contact me should things not run smoothly.

Since the appearance in the evening papers of the names and addresses of the people responsible for letting their dogs run loose and the fact that they were fined, this has resulted in a few less dog roaming about the town. How long this improved situation will last is a mute point.  

Findings from Visits to New Arrivals, in response to letter from Washington Development Corporation, County Durham.

It has been found that there are three phases to the ‘settling-in’ process in the new town. While this is a general finding, the length of each ‘phase’ varies for each family.

Phase 1: Honeymoon period. During this time the family is so excited by its new home that everything seems perfect. It is difficult to point out the problems and drawbacks. This ends when all the furniture has arrived and been placed, the new carpets are fitted, husband is settled in work again, and children at school. It is common for the family to revisit Glasgow/Edinburgh etc. at weekends or for parents/in-laws to visit the family here, so that there is little opportunity to explore the possibilities of the town.

Phase II: this begins when there is no longer the flurry of finding the shops, the school, the doctor etc., and the worry of evaluating the decision to come here commences in the ligh to fits consequences. A feeling of isolation is common and doubts are very strong, homesick feelings being quite usual.

                Contributory factors:

1.       Wrong expectations. Ofter a family will expect some long standing family problem to be solved by this move, although they very rarely admit this, even to themselves. This can greatly increase anxiety at this time. There is also misinformation about the town itself and anger results when the truth is discovered (usually wrong ideas about employment situation, shops, buses)

2.       Bus services. The absence of rail services and the comparative infrequency of buses compared to the city makes it very difficult for people to travel to work and drop in on their old haunts. This causes great frustration, as families are made to feel completely dependent on the town right from the start without gradually ‘growing away’ from their previous home.

3.       Telephones. Corner telephones are very important to the new arrival for him to keep in contact, especially with elderly relative whom he may feel he has abandoned . This is accentuated by delays in installation of private lines (several months at times).

4.        Day nurseries. A young mother’s feeling of isolation can be increased to desperation if she cannot escape from her under-5s. While we have play groups in the town, these can only take a child for two sessions a week at most, and there are waiting lists, even for this facility. It is not enough for a mother coping with several under 5s.  There is no facility for under 3s. A young mother may miss extended family where grandmothers, aunts etc., could keep children while mum went shopping, to the hairdressers.

5.       Absence of commercial facilities which town dwellers expect. This includes shops, cinema, restaurant, Barrows, swimming pool. Although these facilities may never have been used by the family in the city, they miss the availability and the opportunity. Shops are really missed as a day at the shops cannot be spent here.

6.       Strangeness of layout. Whilst this is not important in itself, frustration is felt at not knowing the area and segregated pathways are initially confusing. Although street plans are given out with other town information, this is often put away during the first phase and not remembered when it is needed.

Phase III:             This is the time when the family will settle (or not), and depends largely on the effect of the above factors on the family, especially wrong expectations. Most families do settle perfectly well, and enjoy living here. If a visit can be made to the family during phase II (about 8 weeks after arrival) this can make an enormous difference to anxiety level.

Those who do not settle –

1.       Families coming ONLY for the sake of a house. Usual comment “If I could only take this ho use back with me to....”

2.       Families coming with a problem – unemployment, debt, truancy, marital problems. They expect too much, and cannot find their traditional forms of help in the area. Thier sense of failure can be increased in a new town as they feel they have no reason to fail. A visitor can greatly help this type of family.

3.       Older parents (40+), who have no family in the area.

Those who do settle:

1.       The vast majority of people, who are happy within their own family unit and appreciate the housing and environment which gives them an opportunity to be part of something new.

2.       Those with a special interest in some club or other, as they have plenty of scope here to develop this and the town is very glad of their help and interest. They can build up tremendous morale in their own family and in the town.

3.       Ex-service families, who are used to moving around a lot and settling quickly. They do not expect much in the way of facilities, and like the idea of a new town. They are often a bit older than the average young family.

4.       Pensioners. Our pensioners are exceptionally happy here, possibly because they have an extra last chance to have a good time. Their clubs and activities thrive, and there is also an outlet for those who wish to help the old.

5.       Families returned from Canada/Australia etc. For some reason these people settle very well, perhaps for the same reasons as ex-service people.

Janet & Joan.

 

Housing Visitor's Report For Month Ending The 31st December, 1972

Craigshill And Deans

During this month I made 137 visits, 65 of these being to new tenants and 27 of these were abortive visits but cards were left. A point is often is often made of leaving a card with a new tenant who is in when I call just in case a problem should arise and they feel they have someone to contact. People expressed pleasure at the advantages of their house were settling in well. No one so far would care for an open fireplace and seemed surprised that the question should arise. I noted that in 9 out of every 10 houses they had the imitation grates with electric fires irrespective of the type of central heating in the house. Each person, when asked why they had installed the imitation grate and electric fire, told me that they liked the glow from the imitation coals. This is their compromise in place of the open grate.

I found no discontent regarding the workings of the Social Security Dept., at Bathgate except in one instance and that was not the Social Security’s fault. The problem that arose was a family McGregor at 63 Fremantle Street, a young couple, who paid their rent and found they had left themselves with no money they had expected their Social Security payment that day and it had not arrived. I ran them into Bathgate to the Social Security and the payment had been made out but not posted, they were paid then and there without any further preamble. They said they had always got their money regularly and the fault was theirs that they were without money and food.

Once more complaints were made to me about the bus services, especially to Glasgow, people tend to feel very cut off from their “home” town especially the younger ones. The older influx tend to have their younger families here and consequently do not use the buses to Glasgow except for an infrequent visit to shop.

I have had one Jewish family named XXXX at XXXXX who had asked me to put them in contact with other Jews in Livingston, Mr is a purser and away for long periods of time and his wife is lonely. Unfortunately I have had no success in this direction, I contacted Mr. Orr but so far we have had no success in this direction, I contacted Mr. Orr but so far we have had no success in tracing other Jews in Livingston. I shall make a point of calling on Mrs to cheer her up.

This past month in Craigshill I have had one marital problem which, after some very careful handling, appears to have resolved itself, Loneliness has troubled several younger woman who have come here from Glasgow. I have made a point of several calls on them until they appear to have revised their ideas and then left a card so that they can contact me should they feel depressed.

Regarding Deans area, there seems to be some thawing out of people in this are now, since I have made repeated visits to Deans in the past month, either to visit new people or to investigate rent appears. It would appear to be a question of “getting known” as a part of the general scene and thence being accepted. I have had one or two family problems in this area, now running smoothly, and hope that the word will get around that we are here to help not to pry.

(this entry was slightly edited for data protection reasons)

Women in Livingston in the 1970s

As it is International Women’s Day on Friday the 8^th March, I thought I would look at how women are portrayed in these Visitor Reports, and then take a wider look at women in Livingston in the 1970s.

One of the reasons I like these assistant housing visitor reports so much is due to the way they capture reflect the way out society has changed in the last forty years. This week, I thought I’d look at the changing role and perception of women. In previous entries women are mentioned in ways which, I hope, reflects how much things have changed since the 1970s, when the 1950s ideal of a housewife still held sway...

There were three comments that jumped out at me:

“It is now obvious that a percentage of women work either part time of full time and that it is not possible to make contact with them during working hours. Perhaps evening visiting might be considered in appropriate cases.”

This implies to me that the housing visitor is expecting to find a woman at home at every house at which she calls. As though it is a shock that they are out working... Then this is followed up by -

“It would appear that there is a shortage of jobs for the under twenties as well as part-time work for women and according to tenants, the Department of Employment & Productivity hold out very little hope of any immediate improvement.”

Which again implies how women really only work part time, definitely a sign of an age before it was considered women could have careers and a family. Finally comes this comment -

“Three homes were revisited because the assistant housing officer considered on her first visit that the women were unsettled and depressed.”



Were women in Livingston in the 1970s
restricted to being mothers and housewives?



Although probably an issue for all women across the country at home all day with the baby,  this last issue was particularly acute in Livingston because the population was made up of immigrants, people who had moved away from their friends and family to start a new life in Livingston. This meant that, for all the women not out working, they could not call on their parents friends. There, was, also, at the beginning, a lack of established groups and societies. The problem was such that Leslie Higgs, Livingston Development Corporation’s head of Housing and Social Relations for twenty years summed up the problem like this:

“It cannot be overstressed enough that probably one of the greatest problems facing community workers in new towns is the housewife with a baby to look after and who is then unable to take a job, or has to leave one, and is then alone all day.”

Given all that, I thought I would have a root around in the archive to see if I could find any other records which reflect how women were living their lives in Livingston in the 1970s. 

Firstly, some statistics for you. Livingston Development Corporation was great at collecting statistics as it had to plan services and future developments in the town around its population. An example of this is that when the town was first occupied, it had a very young age structure. As the town matured, so did its population and suddenly the town needed to provide such facilities as day centres for the elderly. Anyway, as a result of this planning there are plenty of statistics available on Livingston. Here are some stats from the Livingston Household survey in 1977 (which includes comparative information from the 1972 survey too) on employment:

In 1972, 34% of Livingston’s population was a “working population” – of that 34%, a third were women. So, assuming a total population  of 50% men and 50% women (and also assuming that I have got my maths right!), only 1 in 5 women in 1972 were looking for, or already in work. Another stat from 1972 – women made up 94% of part time workers, although that figure is still about 75% today across the UK, it shows how women were expected to look after the kids.

Another comment from the Household Survey comes in the recreation section. Whilst teenagers were apparently outdoors (an age before computer games...), and OAPs were gardening, “women were more likely to be home doing housework, knitting or reading.”

That’s in the evening, but what about during the day? Moving away from the Household Survey, there were a variety of groups set up in Livingston and a lot of them were aimed at women. Take, for example, the short course run by the Electrical Association for Women. The course was intended for “students of any age, many of whom may have no formal knowledge of science or electricity. It is intended that they handle as many appliances as possible and do practical work such as meter reading, rewiring a fuse, wiring a 13 amp plug. The information given, must, of course, but accurate but it should not be too technical otherwise the students will get bored.”

For some reason this group flopped the first time it was run in 1973.

Finally, to take us back to International Women’s Day I thought I would have a quick look at... “Women’s Fayre”, events held as part International Women’s Year (more information on which can be found in our collections in LDC/PS/3/3/37/7)

Livingston was one of five towns in Scotland to hold 2 days of events over the 21^st and 22^nd October. In Livingston the fayre was held at Howden House.  Over the two days 2000 people attended the event and it raised £173.57 which went towards the International Women’s Year African Water and Indian Literacy projects.

Again, reflecting slightly different attitudes at the time (and not just relating to women), notes for possible stalls at the event included:

“Police: recruitment effort Community Liaison information, attractive policewomen for help with stewarding etc?”

“Knitting Machine demonstrations and mannequin parade”

“Scottish Gas Board Demonstrations of economic cooking”

“Demonstration by Beautician from Bangour Hosptial...”

I  have been slightly cruel there, because there were plenty of stalls that are perhaps a bit more positive, the Department of Employment was there to talk about retraining, equal pay and equal opportunities for women for example, whilst Livingston’s Voluntary Organisation’s Council had a stall to try and channel people into voluntary groups in Livingston. Bangour hospital, as well as there to give beauty courses, were also appealing for new nurses, or trying to get old nurses to return to work.

In fact, 40 groups expressed willingness to be involved in the exhibition “to draw attention to women’s needs, publicise their potential role in society, and enlighten them of the prospects open to women who want to work voluntarily or for payment.”

So, although the Housing Visitor still expected to find the majority of women at home when she called at a house, times were a-changing. How much they have changed is, of course, open to debate.