HC Deb 05 March 1997 vol 291 cc665-7W
Mr. Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what have been the excess winter mortality rates in Wales for each of the past 10 years in terms of(a) excess numbers and (b) percentages for (i) people over the age of 65 years, (ii) single parent families, (iii) people in receipt of income support, (iv) people with disabilities and (v) others. [17473]

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Information on parental status, income or physical impairment is not collected at death registration and it is therefore not possible to provide data in terms of these characteristics. The available information, provided by the Office for National Statistics, is in the following table:

(3) how many people in Wales received hospital treatment as (a) in-patients and (b) out-patients, for cold-related illnesses for the periods December 1996 and January 1997; and what was the average figure for similar periods in the past 10 years. [17217]

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Information concerning the illnesses for which people are treated by general medical practitioners or as out-patients in NHS hospitals is not available centrally. Information on the number of in-patients treated in NHS hospitals during December 1996 and January 1997 is not yet available. However, information relating to the number of in-patient admissions with cold related illnesses in each of the last 10 years for which data are available is given in the following table:

Number1 Percentage2
1986–87 1,642 19.8
1987–88 1,430 16.7
1988–89 761 8.6
1989–90 2,771 32.0
1990–91 2,159 24.9
1991–92 1,753 20.3
1992–93 1,410 15.8
1993–94 963 10.2
1994–95 1,445 16.1
1995–96 2,256 24.8
1 The number by which deaths occurring in December to March exceed the average of those occurring in the previous and following four month periods.
2 The number defined above as a percentage of the average of the autumn and summer deaths.

Mr. Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what have been the excess mortality rates in Wales for the past 10 years expressed(a) in excess numbers and (b) as percentages. [17443]

Mr. Jones

There is no generally accepted definition of excess mortality. The annual and quarterly numbers of deaths and rates per 1,000 population for Wales, Great Britain and the United Kingdom are shown in the Office for National Statistics quarterly publication, "Population Trends", copies of which are held in the Library.