HC Deb 23 October 2000 vol 355 c77W
Mr. Gerald Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many(a) sterilisations and (b) reversals of sterilisation were carried out by the NHS in (i) 1970, (ii) 1980, (iii) 1990 and (iv) 1999; how many were requested as a result of people getting married or acquiring new partners; and what the total cost to the NHS was in each of those years. [126838]

Yvette Cooper

[pursuant to her reply, 3 July 2000, c. 39W]I regret that the information I gave in the table in my previous reply was incorrect. It should read:

Procedure 11980 1990–91 1998–99
Female sterilisation 16,954 44,904 48,194
Female sterilisation reversal 6,831 1,556 699
Male sterilisation 39,270 36,670 35,609
Male sterilisation reversal 890 1,745 896
11980 data were collected via the Hospital In-Patient Inquiry which was based on a I in I0 sample of discharges and deaths from non-Psychiatric and non-Maternity NHS Hospitals in England.