Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to analyse the Office for National Statistics data on excess deaths from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to the end of 2022 across all age groups.

Analysts at the department have reviewed the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data on excess deaths every week since the start of the pandemic. There are a range of different organisations producing different estimates of excess deaths based on different methodologies. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) within the department analyses the same source data as ONS to produce and publish its own estimates. Using an alternative methodology to the ONS estimates, OHID analysis provides further breakdowns of excess deaths, including by age group, ethnic group, level of deprivation and cause of death.

Analysts at ONS and OHID meet regularly to discuss the analysis produced by both organisations, including the methods used and any issues which may affect the quality or accuracy of the mortality data.