§ Mr. LockTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of the public have died in(a) accidents and (b) suicides in the River Severn in the Wyre Forest District Council area in the past 10 years; and what was the cause of death in each case. [91581]
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. David Lock, dated 21 July 1999:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent question on how many members of the public have died in the River Severn.Between 1993 and 1998, there were seven deaths in the Kidderminster Registration District, which is broadly coterminous with the area administered by Wyre Forest District Council, where the River Severn was mentioned on the coroner's certificate of death. In addition, there were three deaths which occurred in a river not specified by the coroner. Corresponding data for years prior to 1993 are not available.The verdicts and underlying causes of the ten deaths are given in the table.