§ Mr. Leightonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has about the percentage of children born in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the London borough of Newham who have cleft palates.
§ Mr. John PattenThere were 695 notifications of liveborn children with cleft palate (including with cleft lip) in the United Kingdom in 1983, the latest year for which figures are available. This number is 0.098 per cent., of the corresponding number of livebirths.
In 1983 and 1984 there was a total of eight notifications of liveborn children with cleft palate (including with cleft lip) in the London borough of Newham, representing 0.103 per cent., of the number of livebirths.
It should be noted that the systems of notifications of congenital malformations differ in each country of the United Kingdom.