HC Deb 09 March 1911 vol 22 cc1742-5W
Mr. WEDGWOOD

asked the President of the Local Government Board how many local authorities have adopted the Notification of Births Act, the names of the county boroughs which have not adopted the Act, and the average infant death rate in 1905 and 1910 in those county boroughs which have, and in those which have not adopted the Act?

Mr. BURNS

The Act has been adopted for or put in force in 271 areas of local government, viz.:—

How the Act was put in force. Metropolitan Boroughs (including City of London). County Boroughs. Non-County Boroughs. Urban Districts other than Boroughs. Rural Districts.
By adoption by local sanitary authorities 22 Comprising the whole County of London. 53 46 59 1
By an Order under Section 3 7
* By adoption by the Worcester County Council 4 7 17
* By adoption by the Herts County Council 3 16 13
* By adoption by the Leicester County Council 1 9 13
Total 29 53 54 91 44
* The adoptions by the County Councils of Worcestershire, Hertfordshire and Leicestershire were in respect of the whole of their administrative counties except the Urban Districts of (1) King's Norton and Northfield (Worcester), (2) Stourbridge (Worcester), (8) Watford (Herts), and (4) Market Harborongh (Leicester), the Urban District Councils of which had previously adopted the Act. The administration of the Act in the Stourbridge Urban District was subsequently transferred to the County Council of Worcestershire by an Order under Section 2 (4) (b). The adoption by the Hertfordshire County Council does not take effect until the 1st June, 1911, and the formalities for the adoption of the Act by the Leicestershire County Council are not yet complete.

As regards the latter part of the question, the figures for 1910 are not available, and the figures for 1909 are therefore given in the following tables:—

County Boroughs in which the Notification of Births Act is in force, with the infant mortality rates (deaths under one year of age per 1,000 births) in 1905 and 1909.

Name of County Borough. Infant Mortality. Name of County Borough. Infant Mortality.
1905 1909. 1905. 1906.
Bath 91 83 * Great Yarmouth 132 125
Birmingham 154 134 Grimsby 174 118
Blackburn 146 126 Halifax 131 97
Blackpool 133 112 Ipswich 144 92
Bolton 167 128 Kingston-on-Hull 152 114
Bootle 155 122 Lincoln 148 82
Bradford 144 116 Liverpool 153 144
Brighton 101 96 Merthyr Tydvil 193 143
Burnley 173 156 Middlesbrough 173 158
Burton-upon-Trent 87 102 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 135 119
Bury 147 130 Newport (Mon.) 125 115
Cardiff 118 103 Northampton 126 110
* Chester 122 118 Norwich 174 119
Croydon 95 80 Nottingham 155 150
Derby 151 123 Oldham 150 119
Dudley 167 140 Portsmouth 133 96
Exeter 122 99 Preston 154 136
* Act adopted since 1905.

Name of County Borough. Infant Mortality. Name of County Borough. Infant Mortality.
1905 1909. 1905. 1909.
Reading 121 95 Swansea 131 159
Rochdale 133 104 Walsall 141 139
Rotherham 123 116 Warrington 147 130
St. Helens 134 150 West Bromwich 146 123
Sheffield 167 118 West Ham 153 124
Smethwick 137 113 Wigan 164 173
Southampton 132 106 Wolverhampton 137 138
Southport 113 103 Worcester 154 101
Stockport 168 132 York 129 99
Stoke-upon-Trent 147 126
* Act adopted since 1909.

County Boroughs in which the Notification of Births Act is not in force, with the infant mortality rates in 1905 and 1909.

Name of County Borough. Infant Mortality. Name of County Borough. Infant Mortality.
1905 1909. 1905. 1909.
Barrow-in-Furness 135 81 Leeds 151 122
Birkenhead 127 123 Leicester 148 127
Bournemouth 83 100 Manchester 157 134
Bristol 122 100 Oxford 116 75
Canterbury 119 73 Plymouth 135 131
Coventry 108 97 Salford 148 141
Devonport 113 96 South Shields 146 137
Gateshead 138 112 * Sunderland 142 135
Gloucester 118 95 Tynemouth 153 129
Hastings 113 79 West Hartlepool 146 113
* Huddersfield* 119 95
* Compulsory notification of births has been in force under the provisions of local Acts in Hnddersfield since 1906, and in Sunderland since 1907.