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The Clarke Report was a graphic description of the atrocious conditions many of Newport's population lived in and acted as an impetus for reform. In May 1850 following the inevitable recommendation by Clarke the Newport Local Board of Health was formed and began its work to improve public health in the Borough. The reports of the Officer of Health are important evidence on the lives of the people of Newport in the mid Nineteenth Century. Although the prevalence of disease is shocking, what the reports make clear is that even the basic powers available to the Local Board of Health made a dramatic improvement in the living conditions and health of Newport's inhabitants.