§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the rate of infant mortality in the Staffordshire, Moorlands constituency for each year since 1975.
§ Mr. John PattenThe following table shows infant mortality, numbers and rates, for the Staffordshire Moorlands county district which is conterminous with the parliamentary constituency. There is a wide fluctuation in the size of the rates because of the small numbers of deaths involved.
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Numbers of infant deaths and rates per 1,000 live births for Staffordshire Moorlands county district, 1975 to 1983 Year Deaths under one year Deaths under one year per 1,000 live births 1975 20 18.2 1976 11 9.4 1977 20 19.3 1978 5 4.7 1979 17 15.4 1980 16 13.3 It is estimated that the average waiting time for the hearing of an appeal in England for the 12 months ended 31 December 1983 was about nine and a half weeks. The estimate for Wales was about seven and a half weeks.