§ Mr. BaronTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of pregnant women have had as their first point of contact(a) a general practitioner and (b) a midwife in each of the last six years. [144659]
§ Dr. LadymanThis information is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. BaronTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reasons for the varying rates of caesarean section in England. [144660]
§ Dr. LadymanIn order to establish the reasons for the varying rates of caesarean section rates, the Department commissioned the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (RCOG) to carry out the first ever and biggest National Sentinel Audit. The findings of the audit were published by the RCOG in October 2001 and these have been referred to National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to issue clinical guidelines. The guidelines are expected in January 2004.