Death

(asked on 23rd April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what analysis they have undertaken into the estimated number of non-COVID-19 related deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic; whether any such analysis shows an increase in that number; what assessment they have made of the causes for any such increase; and what plans they have to publish any such analysis.


Answered by
Lord True Portrait
Lord True
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
This question was answered on 11th May 2020

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

Dear Lord Dobbs,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what analysis has been undertaken into the estimated number of non-COVID-19 related deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic; whether any such analysis shows an increase in that number; what assessment they have made of the causes for any such increase; and what plans they have to publish any such analysis (HL3372).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing weekly numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales. The most recent annual figures published are for deaths registered in 2018[1], however we do publish provisional weekly death registrations which are currently published for deaths registered up to 24 April 2020[2]. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). Deaths involving COVID-19, which refers to deaths where COVID-19 is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, are identified by the ICD-10 codes U07.1 and U07.2.

Table 1 shows the provisional number of deaths registered each week in England and Wales up to 24 April 2020, broken down by deaths involving COVID-19 and deaths not involving COVID-19. This table also includes the 5-year average for number of deaths. The data shows that the overall increase in deaths compared to the 5-year average is not solely due to deaths involving COVID-19.

The ONS is publishing a report on the increase in non-COVID-19 deaths observed in weekly deaths statistics, in coming weeks. This is mentioned in the ONS’s statement of upcoming analysis on deaths and coronavirus (COVID-19)[3]. The report will analyse how the number of non-COVID-19 deaths occurring in different places of death, for different age groups and for different causes of death differ from previous years’ data, and will suggest how these findings correspond with possible reasons for the increase.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of deaths registered by week, England and Wales, 28 December 2019 to 24 April 2020[4][5][6]

Week

All deaths - 2020

COVID-19

Non-COVID-19

All deaths - 5-year average

1

12,254

0

12,254

12,175

2

14,058

0

14,058

13,822

3

12,990

0

12,990

13,216

4

11,856

0

11,856

12,760

5

11,612

0

11,612

12,206

6

10,986

0

10,986

11,925

7

10,944

0

10,944

11,627

8

10,841

0

10,841

11,548

9

10,816

0

10,816

11,183

10

10,895

0

10,895

11,498

11

11,019

5

11,014

11,205

12

10,645

103

10,542

10,573

13

11,141

539

10,602

10,130

14

16,387

3,475

12,912

10,305

15

18,516

6,213

12,303

10,520

16

22,351

8,758

13,593

10,497

17

21,997

8,237

13,760

10,458


Source: Office for National Statistics

[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsregisteredinenglandandwalesseriesdrreferencetables

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending24april2020

[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/statementofupcominganalysisondeathsandcoronaviruscovid19

[4]Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes U07.1, U07.2

[5]Figures are based on deaths registered up to 24 April 2020

[6]All figures for 2020 are provisional

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