§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many abortions in total have now been performed in Scotland under the provisions of the Abortion Act 1967; how many and what percentage of that total were performed in an emergency to save the life of the mother; and if he will give a breakdown by region of that total and the relevant figures and percentages. [6795]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 18 December 1995]: The total number of therapeutic abortions performed in Scotland from 1968–1994 was 222,651. During this period 17 abortions, 0.01 per cent., were performed in an emergency to save the life of the pregnant woman. A breakdown by health board of residence is shown in the table.
Health board of residence Total number of abortions Performed in emergency1 Percentage of total Argyll and Clyde 14,948 1 0.01 Ayrshire and Arran 13,604 0 0 Borders 3,528 0 0 Dumfries and Galloway 5,245 4 0.08 Fife 15,960 0 0 Forth Valley 9,872 1 0.01 Grampian 27,475 2 0.01 Greater Glasgow 36,419 1 0 Highland 9,828 3 0.03 Lanarkshire 17,094 0 0 Lothian 42,148 3 0.01 Orkney 580 0 0 Shetland 639 0 0 Tayside 23,869 2 0.01 Western Isles 526 0 0 Outwith Scotland/NK 916 0 0 Total 222,651 17 0.01 1Abortions performed under Statutory ground F—i.e., where in the case of emergency it was necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. 1. 1994 data are provisional.
Qualified nursing staff in selected areas of employment Area of employment 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (a) Registered nursing homes1 Number 4,498 5,314 6,048 6,022 77,211 WTE2 3054.8 3686.0 4304.2 4538.3 75985.1 (b) Private hospitals1,3 Number 328 356 393 293 7216 WTE2 280.8 279.7 326.8 246.5 7167.5 (c) Local authorities4 Number 661 772 770 870 n/a