§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many sets of(a) twins, (b) triplets, (c) quadruplets, (d) quintuplets and (e) sextuplets were born in England and 698W Wales in each year since 1990; how many maternities there were in each year; and how many multiple births in each category were conceived as a result of (i) in vitro fertilisation, (ii) gamete intra-fallopian transfer and (iii) other forms of assisted conception. [39969]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe information on multiple maternities and all maternities is given in the table.
Number of maternities in England and Wales 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 Twins 7,934 8,160 8,314 8,302 8,451 8,749 Triplets 201 208 202 234 260 282 Quadruplets 10 10 8 12 8 7 Quintuplets — 2 1 — — — Sextuplets — — — 1 — — Total number of maternities with multiple births 8,145 8,380 8,525 8,549 8,719 9,038 All maternities 701,030 693,857 683,854 668,511 659,545 642,404 The Office for National Statistics does not collect information about assisted conceptions when births are registered. Some information about multiple births following these treatments is contained in annual reports made by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to the Secretary of State for Health, copies of which are in the Library.