§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many drug-related deaths there were in people aged under(a) 21, (b) 30 and (c) 40 years in (i) the North West and (ii) Lancashire in the last year for which figures are available. [157089]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Lindsay Hoyle, dated 27 February 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question asking how many drug-related deaths there were in people aged under (a) 21, (b) 30, (c) 40 in (i) the North West and (ii) Lancashire in the latest year for which figures are available. I am replying in his absence. (157089)
The most recent year for which figures are available is 2002. Data on the number of deaths certified as due to drug poisoning in that year are given in the table below for the North West and Lancashire.
Deaths related to drug poisoning1 North West2 and Lancashire3 20024 Under 21 21–29 30–39 (i) North West 20 91 131 (ii) Lancashire 5— 17 23 1Defined using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision for 1993 to 2000:292, 304, 305.2–305.9, E850–E858, E950.0–E950.5, E980.0–E980.5, E962.0, and the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision for 2001 and 2002: F11–F16, X40–X44, X60–X64, Y10–Y14, X85. 2Usual residents of the Government Office for the North West. 3Usual residents of the former county of Lancashire, which comprises the current county and the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. 4Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year. 5Fewer than 5 deaths. Source: Office for National Statistics.