HL Deb 19 February 1980 vol 405 cc734-5WA
The MARQUESS of AILESBURY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, for statistical purposes, they are able to draw a clear distinction between deaths due to cancer and deaths from other causes; and whether, if so, they will publish figures showing the trend in recent years.

Lord CULLEN of ASHBOURNE

The cause of almost every death is certified by a doctor or coroner. The International Classification of Diseases provides the basis for statistical analysis of mortality by cause which is most widely used today. Categories 140–209 of the recent (Eighth revision) Classification relate to Malignant Neoplasms, and death rates for this cause group, as well as for other causes of death, have been published for recent years in Table 9 of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys annual SeriesDHI. Similar information for years prior to 1974 was published in Table 10 of the Registrar General's annual Statistical Review, Part I