§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for(a) England and (b) the United Kingdom the number of suicides; and if he will express this number as a percentage of the overall population for (i) 1971, (ii) 1981, (iii) 1991 and (iv) for each of the last available three years. [998]
§ Mr. BowisI have been asked to reply.
The table shows the number of deaths and death rates per 100,000 population from suicide—ICD 1E950–E959, E980–E989—in England and the United Kingdom in 1971, 1981, 1990, 1991 and 1992.
England United Kingdom Number Rater per 100,000 Number Rate per 100,000 1971 3,739 8.1 5,760 10.3 1981 5,988 12.8 7.192 12.8 1990 5,594 11.7 6,863 11.9 1991 5,567 11.5 6,801 11.8 1992 5,541 11.5 6,863 11.8 The codes E950–E959 refer to deaths where suicide is the underlying cause of death, whereas E980–E989 relate to deaths where it is undetermined whether the injury was accidentally or purposefully inflicted. The majority of these, however, turn out to be suicide.
The deaths for England in 1971 are only those coded to E950–E959, since deaths coded to E980–E989 are not available for England. Deaths coded to E980–E989 are included in the figures for the United Kingdom 1971.
The coding of deaths in England, and Wales was changed in 1993 to an automated system. Though the results from this are generally satisfactory, the OPCS have identified significant problems in the coding of external causes of death. Certifications of deaths in 1993 and 1994 which could have been due to external causes are all being examined and re-coded as necessary. More reliable data, comparable to that for previous years, will be available in the first quarter of 1996.