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The death rate was 10.3 per 1,000 persons as compared with a
rate of 9.8 for 1954. Both births and deaths depend to some extent
on the proportions of young and old people and of males and females
In the area, and In order to make comparisons between one area and
another the Registrar General gives Area Comparability Factors which
take Into account these variations In age and sex. Using this factor
the adjusted death rate for Bethnal Green would be 10.8 as compared with
11.7 for England and Wales.
The birth rate during 1955 was 15.7 as compared with 17.0 during
the previous year. The adjusted rate however still remains below
the national level at 13.6 as compared with 15.0 for England and
Wales.
The Infant mortality rate at 20.1 is above the rate for the
previous year and compares with the rate of 24.9 for England and
Wales which is Itself the lowest rate ever recorded In this country.
It is, in Bethnal Green however, calculated on a very small number
of infant deaths and is consequently subject to large variations
from year to year and as an indication of child care the figure
should be used with some caution.
The causes of death are shown in Table 1, which follows. There
was a general reduction in the number of deaths but there was no
significant change In the proportion of deaths attributable to any
particular cause.
Notification of Births
Arrangements continued in operation during the year whereby the
London County Council furnished to the Borough Council a weekly
return of births (Including stillbirths J notified to them as the
Local Health Authority under the National Health Service Act, 1946.
During the year 854 live births (440 male and 4l4 female) were
notified and in addition there were 15 stillbirths (6 male and 9
female).
These figures represent corrected totals after the addition of
Inward transfers and the deletion of outward transfers and the
difference between these figures and those set out previously is
due to the fact that births must be registered within 6 weeks and
it is not uncommon for a child to be born and notified in one
calendar year but not actually registered until the following year.