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THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON
Public Health Department,
Hornton Street,
Kensington, W. 8.
1st June, 1954.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Royal Borough of Kensington.
My Lord, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have much pleasure in presenting the Annual Report
on the state of the public health in Kensington for 1953.
The Minister of Health has again requested (Circular 1/54)
that the report should be in the same form as has been the
case for some years past.
The public health in Kensington during the year under
review was maintained at a satisfactory standard.
Population. The Registrar-General's estimate
(171,500) of the population of the borough for 1953 shows
a decrease compared with the figure for the previous year
(171,800). The actual population figure for Kensington
obtained as a result of the 1951 Census was 168,160.
Birth rate. The number of births per 1,000 population
of the borough was 15•4 in 1953, which was 0.9 lower than
the figure recorded for the previous year. The Kensington
birth rate was lower than that for the County of London
(17.5) and lower than that for the whole of England and Wales
(15.5).
(In order to compare the Kensington birth rate with the
rates for other areas, the Registrar-General has supplied an
area comparability factor (0.71) which reduces the actual
birth rate for Kensington for comparison purposes to 10.9)
Death rate. The number of deaths per 1,000 population
was 9.96, which is the lowest ever recorded for Kensington.
This figure is lower than the death rate for the County of
London (12.5) and that for England and Wales (11.4).
(The Registrar-General's area comparability factor for
the Kensington death rate is 1.00 and thus there is no
adjustment this year for comparison purposes with other
authorities.)
Infant death rate. This rate for 1953 was 19.7, which
is the lowest ever recorded in Kensington. The infant death
rate for the County of London was 24.8 and for England and
Wales 26.8.
This record must be especially gratifying, when it is
recalled that the average annual infant death rate in
Kensington for the five years 1934 - 1938 was 81.2.
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