§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the percentage was of all live births with birth weight(a) under 2,500 grammes and (b) under 3,000 grammes in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) the United Kingdom in each of the past five years. [75866]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 10 March 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Fox to Mr. Frank Field, dated 12 March 1999:
In the absence of the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on live birth weights.The information requested is shown in the attached tables.390W
Number of live births by birthweight and percentages of live births with a stated birthweight, for the United Kingdom, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 1993–19971 Total stated Under 2,500 grams
under 3,000 grams
United Kingdom 1993 738,482 50,038 170,393 1994 731,842 50,548 170,209 1995 728,773 52,761 175,129 1996 729,299 52,408 173,838 1997 723,298 53,165 174,012 England 1993 615,413 42,332 143,972 1994 611,988 42,846 144,218 1995 610,938 44,851 148,656 1996 612,712 44,697 148,092 1997 606,154 45,269 148,043 Wales 1993 35,368 2,231 7,783 1994 34,547 2,233 7,845 1995 34,301 2,400 7,949 1996 34,830 2,418 8,014 1997 34,468 2,422 8,004 Scotland 1993 62,883 4,040 13,961 1994 61,106 4,160 13,684 1995 59,683 4,123 13,813 1996 57,401 3,917 13,061 1997 58,614 4,053 13,336
Number of live births by birthweight and percentages of live births with a stated birthweight, for the United Kingdom, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 1993–19971 Total stated Under 2,500 grams
Under 3,000 grams
Northern Ireland 1993 24,818 1,435 4,677 1994 24,201 1,309 4,462 1995 23,851 1,387 4,711 1996 24,356 1,376 4,671 1997 24,062 1,421 4,629 1 1998 data could not be provided to timescale from Scotland and Northern Ireland offices
Percentage of live births with a stated birthweight Under 2,500 grams
Under 3,000 grams
United Kingdom 1993 6.8 23.1 1994 6.9 23.3 1995 7.2 24.0 1996 7.2 23.8 1997 7.4 24.1 England 1993 6.9 23.4 1994 7.0 23.6 1995 7.3 24.3 1996 7.3 24.2 1997 7.5 24.4 Wales 1993 6.3 22.0 1994 6.5 22.7 1995 7.0 23.2 1996 6.9 23.0 1997 7.0 23.2 Scotland 1993 6.4 22.2 1994 6.8 22.4 1995 6.9 23.1 1996 6.8 22.8 1997 6.9 22.8 Northern Ireland 1993 5.8 18.8 1994 5.4 18.4 1995 5.8 19.8 1996 5.6 19.2 1997 5.9 19.2 Source:
ONS