(2) how many births there were in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in 2008-09.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated October 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions on the number of births in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in 2008-09 (295700), and the estimate of the number of likely births in each strategic health authority in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. (295617)
The latest figures available for Strategic Health Authorities are for 2008 calendar year and were published on the ONS website in May 2009:
www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Table_5.xls
Part of this table is reproduced below and shows the number of live births in 2008 to mothers who were usually resident in England and in each Strategic Health Authority within England.
The table below also includes the projected number of live births in each strategic health authority in the year to mid-2009 and mid-2010. These data are taken from the 2006-based Subnational Population Projections published on 12 June 2008, and are the most recent subnational projections available. These are demographic trend-based projections that indicate what the number of births is likely to be if recently observed trends in fertility, mortality and migration were to continue.
Number Live births1 in 2008 Live births Year to mid-2009 Live births Year to mid-2010 England 672,809 672,880 678,914 Strategic health authorities North East 30,217 30,215 30,421 North West 88,167 87,398 87,984 Yorkshire and The Humber 66,353 67,361 68,335 East Midlands 54,192 54,182 54,929 West Midlands 71,726 71,530 72,107 East of England 71,738 71,470 72,257 London 127,651 129,236 130,049 South East Coast 51,565 51,493 51,826 South Central 52,458 51,835 52,234 South West 58,742 58,160 58,772 1 Live births by area of usual residence of mother.