XIX

The  next  Table  shows  the  distribution  of  the  Budgets  according  to  family
incomes  :—

Amount  of  Weekly  Income  per  Family.

Number  of  Budgets.

Under  20s.
20s.  and  under  25s.
25s.  „  30s.
30s.  „  35s.
35s.  „  40s.
40s.  and  over  ...

193
872
1,329
1,223
692
737

With  regard  to  the  statistics  of  families  with  the  higher  ranges  of  income
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  amount  of  the  family  income  is  often  due  to  the
supplementary  earnings  of  the  wife  or  of  children  living  at  home,  rather  than
to  the  high  earnings  of  the  head  of  the  family.  This  is  particularly  the  case
where  the  income  amounts  to  40s.  a  week  or  more  ;  as  will  be  seen  from  the
next  Table  the  average  number  of  children  living  at  home  was,  in  the  families
of  this  class,  much  higher  than  the  average  number  for  all  the  families  from
which  budgets  were  obtained.  The  next  Table  shows  the  average  family
income  in  each  class,  and  the  average  amount  contributed  thereto  by  the
husband,  wife,  and  children  respectively.

Limits  of  Family  Income.

Under
20«.

20a.  and
under  25s.

25«.  and
under  30«.

30«.  and
under  35«.

35«.  and
under  40«.

40«.  and
over.

Average  number  of  children  living
at  home  ...
Average  family  income  :—
Husband
W"  if  e  ...  ...  ...  ...
Children  ...
Total

237
s.  d.
16  104
0  8#
0  02

2-28

s.  d.
21  7

o  114

0  2

2  51

s.  d.
25  3&

4|

251
s.  d.
29  04
1  114
o  104

17  7f

22  84  27  1

31  104

2-79
s.  d.
32  04
2  8
1  114

36  8

3  76

s.  d.
33  24

2
12

94
84

48  84

It  appears,  then,  that  the  contribution  to  the  family  income  by  members
living  at  home,  other  than  the  head,  amounts  in  the  highest  income  group  to
nearly  32  per  cent.,  whereas  in  no  other  group  does  it  exceed  13  per  cent.  It
is  obvious  that  such  families,  with  a  more  than  normal  number  of  wage  earners,
and  usually,  therefore,  with  older  children,  will  have  a  more  than  average
consumption  of  food.
The  following  Table  shows  the  general  results  of  the  enquiry.  It  gives
the  average,  for  each  income-class,  of  the  receipts  and  detailed  expenditure  upon
food  during  a  representative  week  by  the  working-class  families  to  which  the
returns  relate,  and  also  the  quantities  of  the  various  commodities  consumed.
All  children  living  at  home,  whatever  their  age,  have  been  included,  but  returns
in  which  lodgers  appeared  have  been  excluded.

c  2

29088