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ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON.
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
KENSINGTON, W. 8.
1st September, 1948.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Royal Borough of Kensington.
My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of Dr. James Fenton, who is unfortunately
indisposed, I have the unexpected privilege and honour to
present the annual report on the state of the public health
in Kensington in 1947.
The Minister of Health has directed that this report
should be compiled in the same abbreviated form which has
been adopted, at his request, since 1939.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
The population of Kensington in 1947, estimated by the
Registrar General to be 166,170, showed an increase of over
18,000 compared with the previous year. The borough's
lowest population figure of 97,180 was recorded in 1941,
since when there has been a steady increase up to the present
level.
The general public health of the borough was maintained
satisfactorily during the year, although the provision and
maintenance of reasonable housing conditions for all has
presented difficulties owing to the general shortage of
accommodation and to heavy wear and tear on existing
dwellings due to multi-family occupation. The cumulative
effects of war damage, lack of maintenance work during the
war, difficulties of obtaining labour and materials, and
high building costs have resulted in a considerable amount
of deterioration and dilapidation in certain dwelling houses
in the borough. In this connection it is pleasing to
report that the Council have re-introduced the procedure
of repairing occupied houses under Section 9 of the Housing
Act, 1936. It will be recalled that the operation of
"Section 9 procedure" before the war was an important
factor in the local authority's work of maintaining
satisfactory standards in privately-owned dwelling houses.
During the year, nearly one hundred houses were dealt with
under this Section.
BIRTH RATE. The number of Kensington live births in
1947 was 3,012. It is twenty-four years since the annual
number of births exceeded 3,000. The birth rate for 1947
was 18.1. The average birth rate for the five years before
the war (1934-38) was only 12.5.