§ Mr. George asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will propose selective assistance to reduce the perinatal mortality rate in Walsall;
§ (2) which areas in England have a higher perinatal mortality rate than Walsall;
§ (3) by how much the annual perinatal mortality rate in Walsall exceeds the national average.
§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg:Figures for 1980 show that, at 19.2 per 1,000 total births, Walsall had the highest perinatal mortality rate of any area health authority, exceeding the rate for England (13.3) by 5.9 points. In "Care in Action" we gave a high priority to achieving further reductions in perinatal death and handicap, and I am confident that health authorities are taking this guidance seriously. In Walsall a detailed report is being drawn up, analysing the causes of death and other relevant factors, and will be carefully considered by the authority. We brought out in Cmnd. 8084 our reasons for not making a special allocation of funds for the maternity and neonatal services.