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TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE BOROUGH OF FINCHLEY.
July, 1954.
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for the year
1953.
The birth rate has continued its downward trend from the
peak which it attained in 1947, but fortunately the death rate has
shown a similar tendency.
The infantile mortality rate has risen from 11.5 in 1952 to
22.2 per 1,000 live births. The increase was due to 7 more deaths
from congenital malformations and premature birth and 4 deaths
from pneumonia. Reference to the graph on page 11 will show
how the infantile mortality rate has fluctuated from year to year.
This is largely due to the fact that the numbers dealt with are
comparatively small.
I have included certain extracts from the Registrar General's
Reports on the 1951 Census and, where possible, I have given
comparative figures from the Censuses of 1931 and 1921. Finchley
has an older population than the County as a whole and the ratio
of females to males is the highest in Middlesex. The information
regarding families and housing does not need any comment except
to point out that the increase in the number of dwellings occupied
by two or more families in 1951 is partly due to requisitioned
property and Half-Way Houses.
The year was, on the whole, a good one as regards infectious
diseases. The number of cases of poliomyelitis (11) was the highest
since 1949 and three cases were fatal. Measles was very prevalent
but whooping cough and scarlet fever were below the average and
no one died from any of these diseases. Once again there was
no case of diphtheria.
The notifications of cases of tuberculosis have not changed
much in recent years, but the number of deaths is the lowest on
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