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Household arrangements and amenities.
A new departure in the information required on the Census
forms filled in by the heads of households was whether the household
was provided with piped water, cooking stove, kitchen sink,
water closet and fixed bath, and whether these facilities were
shared with other households. The report points out, however,
that preliminary examination of the answers recorded reveals
that there has been some inconsistency among heads of households
in interpreting what constitutes "sharing" of a household arrangement,
in addition to an appreciable but not unexpected element
of uncertainty among heads of households as to the precise meaning
to be attached to the somewhat complicated definitions of the
arrangements. Therefore, it is suggested that the records should
only be used to obtain a broad picture of the availability of
household arrangements, more particularly in illustrating relative
conditions in different types of household and in different parts of
the country.
Piped Water Supply.
For the purposes of the Census a "piped water supply"
meant the existence of a tap connected to the mains or to a storage
tank, which could be reached by a household without leaving the
shelter of a building containing the rooms occupied by it or of an
attached covered structure. The report indicates that out of a
total of 41,282 households in Wembley, 7,692 share piped water
supply and 16 are said to be entirely without. These two figures
together expressed as a percentage equal 19% and compare quite
favourably with other districts in the County; only three other
districts have a lower figure for households being entirely without
a piped water supply, The percentage figure for the County as i
whole is 21% whilst that for London is 31%.
Cooking Stove.
A Cooking Stove or Range means any cooking stove, kitchen
range or other fixed grate using gas, electricity or any other fuel,
provided there is an oven. One or more gas rings, hot plates or
portable electric ovens are not by themselves enough to be called
a cooking stove or range.
The statistics show that 2,534 households in Wembley share
cooking facilities and 215 are without, giving a combined percentage
figure of 7%. The comparable figure for Middlesex is 7%;
for London 8%.
Kitchen Sink means a sink inside the building, whether in a
kitchen or not, with a drain pipe leading outside the building and
normally used for washing up, etc. It does not include a wash
basin designed for personal toilet.
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