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Cataracts: Surgery

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cataract operations have been performed by the NHS in each of the past five years, broken down by strategic health authority; and if she will make a statement. [138532]

24 May 2007 : Column 1496W

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 23 May 2007]: The following table shows the numbers of admissions to hospital for a cataract operation in the last five years. The table does not include cataract operations carried out on an out-patient basis.

Strategic health authority	2005-06	2004-05	2003-04	2002-03	2001-02
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	16,677	16,938	16,310	14,868	12,778
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire	8,334	9,594	8,796	7,347	6,438
Essex	10,301	10,583	11,785	9,126	8,882
North West London	9,816	9,901	9,454	8,570	7,586
North Central London	5,981	6,695	6,105	5,413	4,913
North East London	7,985	8,478	9,146	7,344	5,687
South East London	6,596	6,800	7,882	7,131	5,580
South West London	6,688	6,146	7,660	6,597	5,878
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	10,675	10,769	10,506	9,852	9,045
County Durham and Tees Valley	7,701	8,346	7,206	6,729	5,790
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	9,617	10,477	10,168	9,569	7,417
West Yorkshire	10,291	12,074	10,992	10,852	10,889
Cumbria and Lancashire	11,967	12,679	13,330	12,216	10,318
Greater Manchester	13,147	14,087	13,403	13,338	13,046
Cheshire and Merseyside	12,545	12,516	14,356	11,849	11,773
Thames Valley	10,733	11,026	11,730	9,378	9,993
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	11,837	13,468	11,695	9,692	8,430
Kent and Medway	10,101	9,079	9,540	8,846	7,383
Surrey and Sussex	16,170	14,844	15,515	13,063	12,098
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	12,508	14,455	12,282	12,279	11,132
South West Peninsula	11,252	12,866	12,101	10,301	10,022
Dorset and Somerset	8,185	8,064	8,748	8,116	7,225
South Yorkshire	8,546	8,967	8,469	9,024	7,311
Trent	17,693	17,458	16,251	14,794	13,751
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland	7,417	7,285	6,995	6,388	6,364
Shropshire and Staffordshire	7,172	8,090	8,654	7,248	7,412
Birmingham and the Black Country	12,153	12,089	12,505	12,116	12,053
West Midlands South	6,508	7,170	7,721	7,804	7,836
	288,596	300,944	299,305	269,850	247,030
Note: The figures given do not represent the number of patients, as a patient may have more than one episode of care within the year. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Childbirth

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most common age for women to give birth for the first time was in each year since 1987. [134458]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

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

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 May 2007:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about the most common age for women to give birth for the first time in each year since 1987. (134458)

The most recent year for which data are available is 2005. For each year between 1987 and 2005, the table below shows the most common age at which women had their first live birth in England and Wales. Figures are given for both the age at which the largest number of women had their first birth and the age at which the birth rate for childless women was highest.

24 May 2007 : Column 1497W

	Most common age of first birth, based on:
	Largest numbers of first births	Highest birth rates for childless women
1987	24	28
1988	25	29
1989	25	30
1990	25	28
1991	26	28
1992	26	29
1993	27	29
1994	27	29
1995	27	30
1996	28	30
1997	28	29
1998	27	30
1999	28	31
2000	29	31
2001	30	31
2002	31	31
2003	31	31
2004	31	31
2005	31	31

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