HC Deb 20 April 1964 vol 693 cc874-5
51. Mr. Frank Allaun

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of mistakes made in the 1961 census just published which seriously understates the number of houses without a bath, hot water system or inside water closet in Manchester and other cities; and if he will take action to have the figures corrected.

Mr. Braine

There is no evidence of any significant errors in the number of dwellings and households lacking bath or hot water tap. Misunderstanding of the census question on water closets led to an understatement of the numbers of dwellings and households lacking a water closet in the building or attached to it. It is not proposed to publish volumes of corrected tables.

Mr. Allaun

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that in Manchester, for instance, the figure shown of houses without lavatories inside or attached to them is 1.2 per cent., whereas the proportion is over 25 per cent.? The figure in Liverpool is shown as 2.2 per cent. These are ridiculous figures which grossly understate the seriousness of the problem. Will the Minister consider having a special supplementary report made to correct this?

Mr. Braine

These errors—and they were errors—will be discussed in the housing report of the 1961 census. There is insufficient information available to make corrections to the published figures. Even if the information were available, it would be a difficult and costly operation to correct all the many thousands of separate figures which have already been published in the county volumes.