§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the incidence is of(a) leukaemia, (b) breast cancer, 575W (c) other forms of cancer and (d) foetal abnormalities amongst women (i) in Inverclyde and (ii) elsewhere in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [81128]
§ Mr. Galbraith[holding answer 20 April 1999]: The information in regard to (a), (b) and (c) is set out in the following table:
Numbers of cases and incidence rates for women resident in Inverclyde Council area and the rest of Scotland in the period 1987–1996 Area Inverclyde Rest of Scotland Breast Cancer Number of cases 522 29,817 Rate2 93.2 101.2 Leukaemia Number of Cases 40 2,371 Rate2 6.0 7.0 Other invasive neoplasms1 Number of cases 1,761 88,441 Rate2 273.5 257.5 1 Encludes non-melanoma skin cancer 2 European age-standardised rate per 100,000 The information available on foetal abnormalities relates to births and therapeutic abortions where the condition of the foetus was recorded, excluding pregnancies ending in miscarriage. On this basis, in the year ending March 1998 there were 23 pregnancies in Inverclyde Council area and 3,035 pregnancies in the Rest of Scotland where a congenital anomaly was recorded. These figures imply rates of 126.7 and 281.7 respectively, per 100,000 population of women between 15 and 44.From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.