INFANT MORTALITY IN BRADFORD

That this House views with the deepest concern infant mortality rates in Bradford, which are the second highest in England; notes that in the most deprived areas of the district the number of children dying before their first birthday is as high as one in every hundred, according to a report by Dr Anita Parkin, Director of Public Health; further notes that mortality rates are significantly higher for the Pakistani population than for other populations within Bradford district; attributes a major cause of this to the disgracefully high incidence of poverty in Bradford district with over 36,000 children living below the poverty line, which is as high as one child in every two in some areas of Bradford West; and calls on the Government to make children's health and welfare its number one priority and to provide financial resources and expertise rather than rhetoric to assist local authorities which take over responsibility for public health next month.