Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with Down’s syndrome there were in the UK aged (a) under 15, (b) 15 to 30, (c) 30 to 50 and (d) over 50 on the latest date for which figures are available.

The information is not held centrally. The National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register (NDSCR) estimates that in 2012, 775 babies were born with Down’s syndrome in England and Wales. The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme reports that there are approximately 60,000 people with the condition currently living in the United Kingdom.

The NDSCR was established in 1989 and collects all cytogenetic or DNA reports of trisomies 21, 18 and 13 and their cytogenetic variants occurring in England and Wales. These data are used to (1) monitor the Down syndrome antenatal screening and diagnostic services (2) provide data on annual numbers of affected births to help those planning for their health, educational and social care and (3) provide information for research into Down, Edwards and Patau syndromes. Further information is available from the NDCSR annual reports that appear on the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine Queen Mary University of London website:

http://www.wolfson.qmul.ac.uk/current-projects/downs-syndrome-register