§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Attorney-General if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the total number of divorces recorded in Essex, and in the Basildon District Council if available, in each of the past 10 years.
The Attorney-GeneralThe number of decrees absolute granted in courts in Essex in the years 1968 to 1973 was as follows:
1968 … … … … 683 1969 … … … … 1,103 1970 … … … … 1,470 1971 … … … … 1,706 1972 … … … … 3,593 1973 … … … … 3,193 County courts did not have divorce jurisdiction before April 1968 and no earlier figures for Essex can be ascertained. No figures are available for Basildon since there is no court there.