Written question asked by Karen Buck (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 May 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 11 May 2001. It was answered by Yvette Cooper (Labour) on Friday, 11 May 2001 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will rank each health authority in England and Wales by incidence of (a) psychiatric morbidity and (b) schizophrenia. - Includes fact that information requested is not available centrally and figures.

Answer: Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will rank each health authority in England and Wales by incidence of (a) psychiatric morbidity and (b) schizophrenia. [160973] Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not available centrally. In 1993, the Department commissioned surveys by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) into the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among adults aged 16-64 living in private households and other institutions in Great Britain. It is estimated that about one adult in six in the United Kingdom aged between 16 and 64 suffers from some form of mental illness. This includes psychosis, (a prevalence of 44 per 1000 population) of which schizophrenia makes up less than one per cent. The results of the surveys were presented in a series of reports covering prevalence of psychiatric problems among adults as well as their associated social disabilities and uses of services. It is also estimated that one child in ten between the ages of 5 and 15 suffers from a mental disorder in Great Britain. The source for the prevalence of mental disorder in children is a survey on mental health of children and adolescents in private households carried out by the ONS in 1999. The information at health authority level is not reliable because of the sample size used in the surveys.

Secondary information