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(57)
Overcrowding.—It is a matter of great difficulty to form a
clear idea of the position with regard to overcrowding in the
borough. The general impression of everybody in a position
to speak is that overcrowding is übiquitous. In 1927 a special
census was made, and, taking a standard of more than two persons
to a room, it was found that nearly 3,000 families were living in
overcrowded conditions. This standard is arbitrary and takes
no account of cubic space; further it ignores sex and age, and
many cases have been brought to my notice of young adults
of opposite sex sleeping in the same room, under conditions which,
while not strictly overcrowded, according to a standard of cubic
space, are yet hopelessly wrong from every other point of view.
In fact several cases have been reported to me in which the family
has been split up, and the father and mother have had to separate
on account of insufficient room. In last year s report, I stated
that there were 1,102 overcrowded families, the vast majority
of whom required local accommodation.

It will be seen that, although 300 families have been moved
during the year, there are, at present, 1,475 families known to
us who are living in overcrowded conditions. It appears from
these figures that the position is getting worse rather than better.
It must be borne in mind, however, that the figures are at best
approximate, and probably contain a number of duplicates,
and further that the building activities of the Council have led to
an increase in the number of applications for local accommoda-tion.
While this latter fact does not affect the actual number of
overcrowded families in the borough, it probably has increased
the number known to us. When a family has been removed,