§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish a table showing the number of Down's syndrome babies born in the Hammersmith, or nearest equivalent geographical, area in each year since 1970.
§ Mr. John PattenThe available information is shown in the following table.
Number of babies born with Down's Syndrome in the London Borough of Hammersmith*, 1970 to 1982. Year Number 1970 2 1971 1 1972 1 1973 — 1974 — 1975 2 1976 1 1977 — 1978 3 1979 2 1980 1 1981 1 1982 1 * Name changed to Hammersmith and Fulham in 1979. Figures are derived from a voluntary system of notifying congenital malformations observed at birth or up to seven days after birth; they are, therefore, an incomplete measure of the total number of affected infants since many are not diagnosed until after the first week of life.