§ Mr. Brooksasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was, for each of the years 1960 to 1968, the number of illegitimate births in England and Wales; how many children were born to women married less than nine months; and what was the percentage of all live births which the total of these two figures represented.
§ Dr. John DunwoodyThe figures are in the table which follows:
Illegitimate live births Live births* to women married less than eight months Total Percentage of all live births 1960† … 43,281 54,576 97,857 12.4 1961 … 48,490 59,115 107,605 13.3 1962 … 55,376 62,455 117,831 14.0 1963 … 59,104 64,427 123,531 14.5 1964 … 63,340 67,933 131,273 15.0 1965 … 66,249 70,457 136,706 15.8 1966 … 67,056 71,648 138,704 16.3 1967 … 69,928 73,667 143,595 17.3 1968 … 69,806 74,531 144,337 17.6 * Legitimate live births to women married once only. † 1960 figures relate to maternities. The figures in the second column are for births to women married less than eight months since these are generally considered to give a better estimate of premarital conceptions than that derived from the nine-month convention. I will write to my hon. Friend explaining in detail why the eight-month convention is preferred and giving the corresponding figures for births to women married less than nine months.