Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish statistics on the number of people who died from COVID-19, as opposed to the number who died from other causes but had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Rt Hon the Lord Blencathra
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
25 May 2021
Dear Lord Blencathra,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions asking what plans there are to publish statistics on the number of people who died from COVID-19, as opposed to the number who died from other causes but had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death (HL258); and the number of excess deaths recorded in the COVID-19 deaths statistics of people who did not die from COVID-19, but who are listed in the statistics because they had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death (HL259).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales and publishes a weekly bulletin[1] based on provisional mortality data. Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). The ICD-10 codes used are: U07.1 (COVID-19, virus identified), U07.2 (COVID-19, virus not identified), U10.9 (Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19), U09.9 (Post-COVID condition, where the acute COVID had ended before the condition immediately causing death occurred).
Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. The death certificate is completed by a doctor (or coroner), who can certify the involvement of COVID-19 based on symptoms and clinical findings – a positive test result is not required. Diseases and health conditions are recorded on the death certificate only if the certifying doctor or coroner believed they made some contribution to the death, direct or indirect; the death certificate does not include all health conditions the deceased might have suffered from if they were not considered relevant. Therefore, ONS statistics on deaths involving COVID-19 do not include deaths from causes other than COVID-19 but where the deceased had a positive COVID-19 test result. A death is not counted as involving COVID-19 on the basis of a test result only.
ONS data are different from the figures on COVID-19 deaths published on the GOV.UK Coronavirus in the UK dashboard[2] which shows ‘deaths within 28 days of a positive test’. Section 7 of the ONS weekly deaths bulletin[3] compares these numbers. You can read a blog by Professor John Newton of Public Health England[4] which explains the different methods for counting COVID-19 deaths.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
[2]https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
[4]https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/08/12/behind-the-headlines-counting-covid-19-deaths/
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to ONS statistics published on 6 May 2021, for what reason risk of death involving covid-19 increased for Sikhs and Muslims compared to Christians between the first and second wave of covid-19; and what steps he plans to take in response to that data.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The exact reasons for these findings are still unknown.
The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP) published her second quarterly report on 26 February 2021, which set out work conducted since the first quarterly report, including reviewing the effectiveness of current actions being undertaken by the Government to lessen disparities in infection and death rates of COVID-19. The report reflects that considerable efforts are underway to address these disparities, including through the Community Champions scheme led by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which has provided £23.75 million in funding to local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people in England died in the first three months of 2021 due to (1) flu and (2) COVID-19.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician
The Rt Hon. the Lord Kilclooney
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
19 April 2021
Dear Lord Kilclooney,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in England died in the first three months of 2021 due to (1) Flu and (2) COVID-19 (HL14771).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration.
Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). Deaths where the underlying cause was Influenza and Pneumonia are defined by the ICD-10 codes J09 to J18, deaths. Where the underlying cause of deaths was COVID-19, these are defined by the ICD codes U07.1, U07.2 and U10.9.
Table 1 below provides the number of deaths, in England, where the underlying cause of death was (1) Influenza and Pneumonia or (2) COVID-19 for the first two months of 2021. Data for March 2021 has not yet been compiled but will be released within our Monthly Mortality Analysis[1] dataset, scheduled for release on 22 April.
The number of deaths for 2021 are provisional.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was Influenza and pneumonia or COVID-19, in England, 2021[2][3][4][5][6]
| Influenza and pneumonia | COVID-19 | ||
Month | Number of deaths | Age standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population | Number of deaths | Age standardised mortality rate per 100,000 population |
January | 1,291 | 27.4 | 25,716 | 545.9 |
February | 1,118 | 26.3 | 16,682 | 392.3 |
Source: ONS
[2]Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring, in each calendar year.
[3]Deaths for England exclude non-residents.
[4] Figures for England are based on geographical boundaries as of February 2021.
[5] The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) definitions are as follows: Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18), COVID-19 (U07.1, U07.2 and U10.9).
[6] Figures for 2021 are provisional.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to ensure that changes brought in by the Coronavirus Act 2020 which have digitised the death registration process are retained after March 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
No such plans have been made as the changes brought in by the Coronavirus Act 2020 have not digitised the death registration process.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the proportion of fatal covid-19 infections that were acquired in (a) healthcare and (b) social care settings; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Data on the number of deaths from COVID-19 following a definite healthcare acquired infection is not routinely collected.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS workers have died from covid-19 (a) in total and (b) since 1 January 2021.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Office for National Statistics’ data for deaths involving COVID-19 for healthcare workers in England showed that there were 380 deaths registered between 9 March to 28 December 2020 in England, of those aged 20-64 years old, using their last known occupation. The definition of healthcare workers used will include not only those employed in the National Health Service but also wider healthcare sector workers.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution on 15 July 2020, Official Report, column 1514, what progress has been made to establish a start date for an inquiry into the Government’s handling of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
COVID-19 is the biggest challenge the UK, together with nations around the world, has faced in decades. Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently adapted our response as we have learnt more about the virus and how best to tackle it. As stated by the Prime Minister on 15 July 2020 'we will seek to learn the lessons of the pandemic in the future, and certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened.' Any further updates will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime MInister's oral contribution on 15 July 2020, Official Report, column 1514, what progress has been made to identify the leadership of the inquiry into the Government’s handling of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
COVID-19 is the biggest challenge the UK, together with nations around the world, has faced in decades. Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently adapted our response as we have learnt more about the virus and how best to tackle it. As stated by the Prime Minister on 15 July 2020 'we will seek to learn the lessons of the pandemic in the future, and certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened.' Any further updates will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution on 15 July 2020, Official Report, column 1514, what progress has been made to establish the format of a potential inquiry into the Government’s handling of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
COVID-19 is the biggest challenge the UK, together with nations around the world, has faced in decades. Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently adapted our response as we have learnt more about the virus and how best to tackle it. As stated by the Prime Minister on 15 July 2020 'we will seek to learn the lessons of the pandemic in the future, and certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened.' Any further updates will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the digitalisation of the death registration process on bereaved people; and whether that process is planned to continue after March 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
No formal assessment has been made of the effect of the digitalisation of death registration on bereaved people, as the registration process has not been digitalised.
The current easements for death registration, which facilitate telephone registration if required by the informant and the transmission of documents electronically as part of the death certification process, have been used effectively during the pandemic but will expire in line with the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Separate to this, the General Register Office continues to work with the Department of Health and Social Care on taking forward death certification reforms, which includes consideration of digital services.