HL Deb 27 April 1981 vol 419 cc1119-20WA
Lord Simon of Glaisdale

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many children under the age of 16 years were named annually in petitions for divorce filed from 1969 to the latest year for which figures are available.

The Lord Chancellor

The figures for England and Wales are set out in the table below. These statistics are collected only when decrees are made absolute, and the numbers of decrees absolute for the years from 1969 are therefore also given.

Year Decrees Absolute Children Named
1969 51,310 Not available
1970 58,239 71,336
1971 74,437 82,304
1972 119,025 130,903
1973 106,003 126,928
1974 113,500 135,334
1975 120,522 145,096
1976 126,694 152,170
1977 129,053 148,792
1978 143,667 162,655
1979 138,706 155,425
1980 148,185 Not yet available

House adjourned at thirteen minutes before nine o'clock.