§ Mr. Spriggsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a detailed monitoring survey of the industrial areas of Merseyside, Tyneside and Glasgow, and each of the areas mentioned in his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 53, column 64–65 on 17th July 1973, together with areas of a residential nature, for comparison with cancer and bronchitis death rates in each part of the country.
§ Sir K. JosephI have been asked to reply.
The rates of mortality by area and by occupation are published regularly and detailed tables are now being prepared which will relate the deaths in recent years to the populations shown by the last census. These are not confined to the particular areas and diseases mentioned by the hon. Member. Much research is being undertaken into cancer and bronchitis both by Government Departments and by outside bodies, such as universities and the Medical Research Council, with Government support. A considerable body of knowledge about the factors which contribute to these diseases has already been accumulated. Monitoring of deaths from all causes and research into the factors that may be associated with them will of course continue.