§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the incidence of epilepsy in England.
§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg:Epilepsy is not a notifiable condition and the Department has no record of either the incidence of new cases or the prevalence of epilepsy throughout the population in this country. There have been various estimates of prevalence, all suggesting a rate of between four and six per thousand population. The report 68W "People with Epilepsy", which was published by the Department in 1969, estimated that some 190,000 adults and 100,000 children aged 16 and under in England and Wales suffered from epilepsy.