Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many deaths were recorded in each calendar month of (1) 2018, (2) 2019, and (3) 2020, up to and including August.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Warner,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many deaths were recorded in each calendar month of (1) 2018, (2) 2019, and (3) 2020, up to and including August (HL7905); and how many recorded deaths were caused by (1) COVID-19, and (2) any form of cancer, in each calendar month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019, and (c) 2020, up to and including August (HL7906).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths in England and Wales. The ONS’ mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. In England and Wales, deaths should ideally be registered within 5 days of the death occurring, but there are some situations that result in the registration of the death being delayed. The ONS has published a report on the impact of registration delays[1].
The ONS produces a monthly report[2] on provisional deaths in England and Wales. The most recent report goes up to July 2020 and provides breakdowns by all deaths combined and a breakdown for deaths due to COVID-19. The ONS also produces an annual report[3] which includes registered deaths by age, sex, selected underlying causes of death, and the leading causes of death.
National Records for Scotland[4] and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency[5] are responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Table 1 shows the number of deaths by all causes, that were registered by month, in 2018, 2019, and 2020, in England and Wales. All numbers for 2020 are provisional. The data for August will be published on 18 September 2020, which we will send to you.
Table 2 shows the number of deaths that were registered where cancer was the underlying cause of death by month, 2018 and 2019, in England and Wales. The corresponding numbers by month for 2020 are not yet available, as detailed data on deaths by underlying cause are not normally published until after the end of the registration year.
Table 3 shows the number of deaths where COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death, January to July 2020, in England and Wales. Provisional data on deaths involving COVID-19 is being published, exceptionally, on an ongoing basis throughout the year: numbers of deaths due to COVID-19 in August will be available on 18 September 2020, which we will also send to you.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[4]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/
Table 1: Number of deaths registered in 2018, 2019, 2020 by month, all causes, England and Wales[1][2][3][4]
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
January | 64154 | 53910 | 56,597 |
February | 49177 | 45795 | 43,555 |
March | 51229 | 43944 | 49,641 |
April | 46469 | 44121 | 88,049 |
May | 42784 | 44389 | 52,315 |
June | 39767 | 38603 | 42,577 |
July | 40723 | 42308 | 40,731 |
August | 40192 | 38843 | |
September | 37137 | 40011 | |
October | 44440 | 46238 | |
November | 43978 | 45219 | |
December | 41539 | 47460 |
[1]Figures include deaths of non-residents.
[2]Figures are for the date a death was registered rather than occurred.
[3]2020 figures are provisional.
[4]2020 figures are as published, the back series has not been revised.
Source: ONS
Table 2: Number of deaths registered where the underlying cause of death was cancer, 2018 and 2019, by month, England and Wales[1][2][3][4]
| 2018 | 2019 |
January | 14422 | 13859 |
February | 11602 | 11667 |
March | 11945 | 11659 |
April | 11899 | 12261 |
May | 12372 | 12425 |
June | 11771 | 11284 |
July | 12120 | 12838 |
August | 12297 | 11959 |
September | 11115 | 12107 |
October | 13008 | 12977 |
November | 12394 | 12197 |
December | 11412 | 12186 |
[1]Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10): Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97).
[2]Figures for Cancer include deaths of non-residents.
[3]2020 figures are provisional
[4]Figures are for the date a death was registered rather than occurred.
Source: ONS
Table 3: Number of deaths registered where the underlying cause of death was COVID-19, 2020, by month, England and Wales[1][2][3][4][5]
| 2020 |
January | 0 |
February | 0 |
March | 1631 |
April | 29381 |
May | 12005 |
June | 3634 |
July | 1023 |
August | |
September | |
October | |
November | |
December |
[1]Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10): coronavirus (COVID-19) (U07.1 and U07.2).
[2]Figures for COVID-19 exclude the deaths of non-residents.
[3]2020 figures are provisional
[41]Figures are for the date a death was registered rather than occurred.
[5]2020 figures are as published, the back series has not been revised
Source: ONS
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many recorded deaths were caused by (1) COVID-19, and (2) any form of cancer, in each calendar month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019, and (c) 2020, up to and including August.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Warner,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many deaths were recorded in each calendar month of (1) 2018, (2) 2019, and (3) 2020, up to and including August (HL7905); and how many recorded deaths were caused by (1) COVID-19, and (2) any form of cancer, in each calendar month of (a) 2018, (b) 2019, and (c) 2020, up to and including August (HL7906).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes statistics on deaths in England and Wales. The ONS’ mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. In England and Wales, deaths should ideally be registered within 5 days of the death occurring, but there are some situations that result in the registration of the death being delayed. The ONS has published a report on the impact of registration delays[1].
The ONS produces a monthly report[2] on provisional deaths in England and Wales. The most recent report goes up to July 2020 and provides breakdowns by all deaths combined and a breakdown for deaths due to COVID-19. The ONS also produces an annual report[3] which includes registered deaths by age, sex, selected underlying causes of death, and the leading causes of death.
National Records for Scotland[4] and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency[5] are responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Table 1 shows the number of deaths by all causes, that were registered by month, in 2018, 2019, and 2020, in England and Wales. All numbers for 2020 are provisional. The data for August will be published on 18 September 2020, which we will send to you.
Table 2 shows the number of deaths that were registered where cancer was the underlying cause of death by month, 2018 and 2019, in England and Wales. The corresponding numbers by month for 2020 are not yet available, as detailed data on deaths by underlying cause are not normally published until after the end of the registration year.
Table 3 shows the number of deaths where COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death, January to July 2020, in England and Wales. Provisional data on deaths involving COVID-19 is being published, exceptionally, on an ongoing basis throughout the year: numbers of deaths due to COVID-19 in August will be available on 18 September 2020, which we will also send to you.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[4]https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/
Table 1: Number of deaths registered in 2018, 2019, 2020 by month, all causes, England and Wales[1][2][3][4]
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
January | 64154 | 53910 | 56,597 |
February | 49177 | 45795 | 43,555 |
March | 51229 | 43944 | 49,641 |
April | 46469 | 44121 | 88,049 |
May | 42784 | 44389 | 52,315 |
June | 39767 | 38603 | 42,577 |
July | 40723 | 42308 | 40,731 |
August | 40192 | 38843 | |
September | 37137 | 40011 | |
October | 44440 | 46238 | |
November | 43978 | 45219 | |
December | 41539 | 47460 |
[1]Figures include deaths of non-residents.
[2]Figures are for the date a death was registered rather than occurred.
[3]2020 figures are provisional.
[4]2020 figures are as published, the back series has not been revised.
Source: ONS
Table 2: Number of deaths registered where the underlying cause of death was cancer, 2018 and 2019, by month, England and Wales[1][2][3][4]
| 2018 | 2019 |
January | 14422 | 13859 |
February | 11602 | 11667 |
March | 11945 | 11659 |
April | 11899 | 12261 |
May | 12372 | 12425 |
June | 11771 | 11284 |
July | 12120 | 12838 |
August | 12297 | 11959 |
September | 11115 | 12107 |
October | 13008 | 12977 |
November | 12394 | 12197 |
December | 11412 | 12186 |
[1]Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10): Malignant neoplasms (C00-C97).
[2]Figures for Cancer include deaths of non-residents.
[3]2020 figures are provisional
[4]Figures are for the date a death was registered rather than occurred.
Source: ONS
Table 3: Number of deaths registered where the underlying cause of death was COVID-19, 2020, by month, England and Wales[1][2][3][4][5]
| 2020 |
January | 0 |
February | 0 |
March | 1631 |
April | 29381 |
May | 12005 |
June | 3634 |
July | 1023 |
August | |
September | |
October | |
November | |
December |
[1]Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10): coronavirus (COVID-19) (U07.1 and U07.2).
[2]Figures for COVID-19 exclude the deaths of non-residents.
[3]2020 figures are provisional
[41]Figures are for the date a death was registered rather than occurred.
[5]2020 figures are as published, the back series has not been revised
Source: ONS
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many recorded deaths were (1) residents of adult care homes, and (2) patients in NHS England hospitals, in each calendar month of 2020, up to and including August.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Dear Lord Warner,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many recorded deaths were (i) residents of adult care homes, and (ii) patients in NHS England hospitals, in each calendar month of 2020, up to and including August (HL7908).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing mortality statistics for deaths registered in England and Wales. The most recent annual figures published are for deaths registered in 2019[1]. However, we do publish provisional weekly deaths registrations which are currently published for deaths registered up to 28 August 2020[2]. As part of this report, data is published by place of occurrence, which includes hospitals and places outside of hospitals, such as care homes.
Table 1 below provides the provisional number of deaths registered in care homes and hospitals by each calendar month of 2020, registered up to 28 August 2020, in England. The ‘Hospitals (acute or community, not psychiatric)’ figure includes deaths in NHS hospitals and private hospitals in England. Currently, the ONS does not publish age breakdowns of deaths registered in care homes. The figure includes children and adults, as some care homes may cater for adults as well as children. More detailed analysis on deaths, registered by place of occurrence, is available in our weekly report.
Table 1: Provisional number of deaths registered by place of occurrence, England, deaths registered between 1 January 2020 and 28 August 2020[3][4][5][6][7]
Month | Place of occurrence | |
Care home | Hospital (acute or community, not psychiatric) | |
January | 12,046 | 24,615 |
February | 9,231 | 18,229 |
March | 10,563 | 20,902 |
April | 26,835 | 34,520 |
May | 14,870 | 18,126 |
June | 8,579 | 15,191 |
July | 7,684 | 14,528 |
August | 7,151 | 13,362 |
Source: ONS
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[3]Based on date a death was registered rather than occurred.
[4]All figures for 2020 are provisional.
[5]Non-residents are excluded in the England totals.
[7]Care homes includes homes for the chronic sick; nursing homes; homes for people with mental health problems and non-NHS multi function sites.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which department is responsible for (1) maintaining the National Risk Register, and (2) ensuring all other departments have up-to-date plans to mitigate risks contained in the National Risk Register; and whether the Ministerial Code includes a duty to ensure departmental risk plans are up-to-date.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) within the Cabinet Office is responsible for maintaining the National Risk Register, working closely with Government departments.
Government departments are responsible for identifying and assessing risks. Each department is also responsible for overseeing levels of preparedness within their sectors, ensuring they have up-to-date plans to mitigate and respond to risks contained in the National Risk Register.
The Ministerial Code sets out the standards of conduct expected of ministers and how they discharge their duties.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when COBRA first met in 2020 to discuss COVID-19; and on what date they rated the risk of the virus to UK public health as high.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Prime Minister and Cabinet have been regularly briefed on COVID-19 since the outbreak of the virus. These issues have also regularly been discussed at meetings of the COBR Committee. Additionally, since 16 March, a series of Cabinet Committees have convened to support the Government’s efforts. Specific information on the frequency and content of Cabinet Committees and other Ministerial meetings is not routinely disclosed.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Government departments are expected to make public the results of external consultations relating to the preparation of statutory instruments.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Cabinet Office is responsible for the Government Consultation Principles, which provide departments with guidance on conducting consultations and can be found on gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consultation-principles-guidance.
This guidance states that government responses to consultations should be published in a timely fashion. It also states that where consultations concern a statutory instrument, responses should be published before or at the same time as the instrument is laid, except in very exceptional circumstances.