§ Mr. James HillTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the recorded numbers of cot deaths in the United Kingdom for each year since 1990.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe information for England and Wales is shown in the table. Information relating to Scotland and 435W Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Cot Deaths (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and, Sudden Infant Deaths) registered in England and Wales, 1990–91 Sudden infant death Syndrome1 Sudden infant deaths2 1990 1991 1990 1991 Under 1 year of age 1,123 935 1,202 1,008 1 year and over3 32 39 44 43 1Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS, ICD 9th revision 798.0) refers to cases where the death certificate identified it as either being (i) a main foetal mention (deaths under 28 days of age) or (ii) the underlying cause of death (28 days and over). 2Sudden infant deaths refer to all the cases where 'cot death', 'sudden infant death syndrome', or some similar term has been given on the death certificate even when other, perhaps more precise, conditions were also given. 3Only rarely is sudden infant death given as a cause of death in children aged over one year; this happened for seven sudden infant deaths in 1990 and for four in 1991. Note: Provisional information for 1992 will be available shortly.