§ 11.6 a.m.
§ Mr. Lewis Carter-Jones (Eccles)I rise as a member of the all-party disablement group to present a petition that, had I not been here, could easily have been presented by the hon. Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam). It is an all-party petition. I should like to express my gratitude to two people who brought to my notice the fact that our society has not done as much as it ought to have done to prevent disability. I name two people—Duncan Guthrie of Action Research for the Crippled Child and James Loring of the Spastics Society. It is one of the largest petitions that the House has seen in 200 years.
I give notice on behalf of the all-party disablement group that this is merely a token of our desire to get our perinatal mortality rate down to that of other European countries. It is a shame that 554 we have fallen so far back. I pay tribute to all those people in the all-party group who have helped me in my research, and to all other people who have assisted me.
With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I shall read the petition, which is as follows:
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled the Humble Petition of the Supporters of the Save a Baby Campaign against needless handicap SHEWETH.That we, the undersigned, are deeply concerned that the rates of perinatal death and handicap in the U.K. are excessively high compared with those of other industrialised countries in Western Europe and, furthermore, that these rates differ widely according to region and income, Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House take immediate action to reduce the number of babies born dead or handicapped in the U.K.And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray etc.,
§ To lie upon the table.