§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total number of live births was in(a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 1992. [168159]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to David Willetts, dated 26 April 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for the number of live births in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland in each year since 1992. (168159)
The latest year for which figures are available for all four countries is 2002. The information requested is shown in the attached table for the years 1992–2002.
Provisional 2003 figures are available for Scotland and Northern Ireland. These are also shown in the table. The 2003 figures for England and Wales will be published on 13 May 2004.
The figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the appropriate national office. They have been extracted from publications produced by the General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
Number of live births in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland 1992–2003
Northern Scotland1 England2,3 Wales3,4 Ireland5 1992 65,789 651,784 37,523 25,354 1993 63,337 636,473 36,578 24,722 1994 61,656 628,956 35,366 24,098 1995 60,051 613,257 34,477 23,693 1996 59,296 614,184 34,894 24,382 1997 59,440 608,202 34,520 24,087 1998 57,319 602.111 33,438 23,668 1999 55,147 589,468 32,111 22,957 2000 53,076 572,826 31,304 21,512 2001 52,527 563,744 30,616 21,962 2002 51,270 565,709 30,205 21,385 20036 52,408 n/a n/a 21,648 1 Numbers of live births occurring in Scotland, registered in the year stated. 2 Numbers of live births occurring anywhere in England and Wales to mothers usually resident in England, in the year stated. A small number of births from the previous year, which were late in being registered are also included. 3 There are around 200–400 births each year that occur in England and Wales that are to non-residents of England and Wales. These births are excluded from these figures. 4 Numbers of live births occurring anywhere in England and Wales to mothers usually resident in Wales, in the year stated. A small number of births from the previous year which were late in being registered are also included. 5 Numbers of live births occurring in N Ireland to resident mothers, registered in the year stated. 6 Provisional. Sources: Office for National Statistics General Register Office for Scotland Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency