§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the expected incidence of still births in Scotland per196W year; if he has any evidence of any unusual geographical or temporal concentration of still births in any recent year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 23 November 1987]: There is no figure for the expected number of still births per year. The table following shows still birth rates per 1,000 births in Scotland and health board areas in recent years.
Still birth rates per 1,000 births (live and still) by Health Board Area, Scotland, 1981 to 1986 Health Board Area 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Scotland 6 6 6 6 5 6 Borders 3 5 3 6 3 5 Forth Valley 7 7 7 5 5 4 Dumfries and Galloway 6 3 9 5 7 2 Fife 5 7 5 6 6 6 Grampian 7 6 6 6 5 5 Highland 7 6 6 6 5 4 Lothian 5 6 6 6 5 4 Argyll and Clyde 7 5 6 6 7 6 Ayrshire and Arran 4 6 7 6 4 7 Greater Glasgow 7 6 5 6 7 6 Lanarkshire 7 6 6 6 5 10 Tayside 4 4 4 4 5 6 Orkney 4 8 9 16 13 4 Shetland 3 14 19 9 3 6 Western Isles 15 3 3 9 5 — I have no evidence of any unusual geographical or temporal concentration of still births.