Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason there was an increase in death rates among 20-44 year olds in 2023 from 2019.

Data published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities provides recent estimates of excess mortality in England by age group. Estimates for 20 to 44 year olds are not available, but data are published for those aged 25 to 49. These show that in 2023, deaths in this age group were 3% lower than expected. The number of expected deaths is based on the trend in mortality rates for this age group in the 5 years before 2023. This baseline excludes periods with particularly high numbers of deaths from COVID-19.

This estimate for excess mortality in 2023 reflects, in part, an increase in mortality for this age group over the preceding 5 years. However, official estimates of mortality rates for this age group have not been published. The Office for National Statistics have also not yet released final mortality data or mid-year population estimates for 2023.