xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Our ref: DE00000416098
Dear Mr Baxter,
Thank you for your email of 22 May to the Department of Health requesting, under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, data relating births and ethnicity. Your email has been passed to me for reply.
The Department does not hold this data.
The Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data collected by the NHS Information Centre and published as NHS Maternity Statistics includes some information about the ethnic group of the mother.
You may wish to contact the NHS Information Centre at:
Tel: 0845 300 6016
Email: xxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xx
Website: www.ic.nhs.uk
Departmental officials have advised that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census data on women with children aged under one suggests that the ethnic distribution of HES deliveries is broadly accurate (as long as cases with ethnic group not stated are grouped with those where ethnic group was stated to be white).
You may also wish to contact the ONS for further information at:
Tel: 0845 601 3034
Email:
xxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Website:
www.statistics.gov.uk
If you have any queries about this response, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to:
Head of the Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health
Room 317
79
SW1A 2NS
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xxx.xx
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Department. The ICO can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF
Yours sincerely,
William Scott
Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Health