§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the infant mortality rate at the latest available date among families of (a) unskilled workers and (b) professional workers.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is shown in the table. The figures relate to legitimate births only, as the social class of fathers of all illegitimate babies is not available. In 1983, the infant mortality rate of all illegitimate babies was 13.3 per thousand illegitimate live births. The overall infant mortality rate for 1983 was 10.1 per thousand live births.
Infant mortality rate by social class* in 1983, England and Wales legitimate births only Social Class* Rate per 1,000 legitimate live births All legitimate births 9.4 i. Professional occupations 6.2 ii. Intermediate occupations 7.6 iiiN. Non-manual skilled occupations 8.1 iiiM. Manual skilled occupations 9.2 iv. Partly skilled occupations 12.0 v. Unskilled occupations 12.8 *Social class is derived from the fathers' occupation.