§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 1 July 2004,Official Report, column 409W, on infant mortality, if he will set out (a) the baseline for the target to reduce the gap by 10 per cent. by 2010, (b) what the gap should be in 2010 if the target is met and (c) the current size of the gap between routine and manual groups and the population as a whole. [187853]
1646W
§ Dr. LadymanThe baseline is the average of the three years 1997–99. In the baseline period, the infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births among routine and manual groups was 13 per cent. higher than the overall rate in all social groups (6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births compared with 5.61. I would underline that the target is to reduce the gap by at least 10 per cent. For the target to be met, in 2010 the infant mortality rate among the routine and manual group will be at most 11.7 per cent. higher than in all social groups. On the latest available data, 2000–02, infant mortality rate among the routine and manual group was 16 per cent. higher than in all social groups.
Notes
1. Social groups are as defined in the National Statistics socioeconomic classification.
2. Figures for 'all social groups' and 'routine and manual groups' are for live births within marriage and joint registrations only, as social class can be allocated only to those groups where the occupation of the child's father can be identified.
3. The 'routine and manual' category consists of people in lower supervisory employment, sales and retail assistants, agricultural workers and technical occupations, semi-routine occupations, and routine occupations.