To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many girls under the age of 16 years (a) became pregnant and (b) gave birth in (i) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and (ii) Suffolk county council area in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age. (134691)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 1 May 2007:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many girls under the age of 16 years (a) became pregnant and (b) gave birth in (i) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and (ii) Suffolk County Council area in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age. I am replying in her absence. (134691)

Numbers of conceptions in Suffolk County for the years 1996-2005 (the most recent year for which figures are available) are shown in the table below. Figures for 2005 are provisional.

Figures on under 16 pregnancies are estimated using the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or legal termination.

Information on conceptions is routinely published for local authorities and strategic health authorities. Figures cannot be provided by parliamentary constituency because of the risk of disclosing individual's information, due to small differences between the parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries.

ONS does not publish figures by single year of age below the age of 16 by either local or health authority because of the risk of disclosing individual's information.

Numbers of maternities in Suffolk County for the years 1996-2005 are shown in the table below.

Maternity counts are for girls aged under 16 in each year at which either one or more live birth or stillbirth occurred.

Birth figures cannot be provided for Bury St. Edmunds parliamentary constituency for the same reason as provided for conceptions.