Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the registered number of deaths of all causes between 1 March and the most recent available date; and what is the figure for deaths per 100,000 population this number represents for (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) Wales.

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

Dear Lord Wigley,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what was the registered number of deaths of all causes between 1 March and the most recent available date; and what is the figure for deaths per 100,000 population this number represents for (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Northern Ireland, and (4) Wales (HL6919).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales. The most recent annual figures published are for deaths registered in 20191. However, we do publish provisional weekly deaths registrations, which are currently published for deaths registered up to 3 July 20202. National Records Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

Table 1 provides the registered number of deaths from all causes between 1 March 2020 and the most recent available weekly deaths data in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Table 2 provides the number of deaths registered and age-standardised mortality rates per 100,000 persons using the most consistent date range possible. Table 2 covers deaths registered between 1 March 2020 and 3 July for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but between 1 March and 5 July for Scotland.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Table 1: Number of deaths registered between 1 March and most recent weekly deaths date, by country of usual residence, United Kingdom[1][2][3][4]

Source: ONS

Table 2: Number of deaths registered and age-standardised mortality rates, between 1 March 2020 and 3 July 2020 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and between 1 March 2020 and 5 July 2020 for Scotland[5][6]

Source: ONS

[1]Figures are based on deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in the specified year.

[2]Geographic boundaries correct as of May 2020

[3]Deaths of non-residents of each country are excluded

[4]Deaths have been provided for the most up-to-date weekly data available. Deaths for residents of England and Wales are included up to week 27 (week ending 3 July 2020), for Northern Ireland up to week 26 (week ending 3 July 2020), and for Scotland up to week 28 (week ending 12 July 2020). Note: week numbers differ across the countries so dates have been provided for clarity.

[5] Deaths have been included for weeks that are most consistent across the 4 countries, to aid fair comparison. Deaths for residents of England and Wales are included up to week 27 (week ending 3 July 2020), for Northern Ireland up to week 26 (week ending 3 July 2020), and for Scotland up to week 27 (week ending 5 July 2020). Note: week numbers differ across the countries so dates have been provided for clarity

[6]Rates are age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) per 100,000 population, standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population. ASMRs are a better measure of mortality than the number of deaths, as they account for the population size and age structure. They are also better for comparing between areas and over time.