To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the trend in the incidence of asthma in children.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is available on trends for asthma occurrence in children in the United Kingdom.

There is some evidence for a gradual increase in the incidence of asthma in children in England and Wales over recent years—weekly returns service of the Birmingham research unit of the Royal College of General Practitioners 1987–91. There is also some evidence that hospital admissions have increased over the last decade. Caution is required in assessing trend data from routine sources, because of changes over time in the data collection systems and in the likelihood of asthma being correctly diagnosed.