Housing Needs Assessment 2006 - Westminster City Council

3. Data collection3. Data collection3.1 IntroductionThe primary data was collected using personal interviews, a total of 1,261 were undertaken. Thesehouseholds were selected completely at random. The number of responses provides sufficient datato allow complete, accurate and detailed analysis of needs across the City and geographicalbreakdowns for the 5 sub-areas identified in the City.Prior to analysis, data must be weighted in order to take account of any measurable bias. Theprocedure for this is presented in the following sections.3.2 Base household figures and weighting proceduresFirstly, the total number of households is estimated. This is necessary in order to gross up the datato represent the entire household population. A number of different sources were consulted,primarily the Council’s Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) (2005), the Council TaxRegister and 2001 Census results. Using this information, the base household figure for City ofWestminster was estimated as follows:Total number of households = 112,395Analysis of the survey data indicated the presence of a significant number of student-onlyhouseholds living in the private rented sector. Student households are a special case, particularly inrelation to affordable housing. Most have low incomes but do not generally qualify for affordablehousing due to the short-term nature of their residence. Although student-only households raisetheir own housing issues, as these do not directly impact on the need for affordable housing, theyare not addressed in the affordability model in this study. Analysis of the data shows an estimated3,215 student-only households in the City of Westminster. It will be indicated in each particularsection where student households have been removed.It should be noted that although student households are excluded from the assessment of theaffordable housing need, they can form part of the projection of housing need. Such households willappear as part of the projection where information based on past trends suggests that suchhouseholds have moved into ‘ordinary’ residential accommodation.PAGE 31