§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list winter death rates(a) for the whole population, (b) for those over pensionable age, (c) for those aged over 65 years and (d) per 1,000 population for those EU countries for which statistics are available. [14257]
§ Mrs. LiddellI have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from John Fox to Mr. Nigel Evans, dated November 1997:
The Director of the Office for National Statistics has been asked to answer your recent question on excess winter deaths. In his absence, I am replying as the Director of the Census, Population and Health Group.Based on the latest available data, the estimated numbers of excess deaths in England and Wales during the 1996–97 winter, are given in the table below.Excess winter deaths are defined as the number of deaths in the four months from December to March less the average of the numbers during the preceding autumn (August to November) and the following summer (April to July).430WThere were 0.9 excess winter deaths per 1,000 population in 1996/97 in England and Wales. The Office for National Statistics does not compile comparable figures for other EU countries.
Excess winter deaths Whole population 48,600 Over pensionable age 45,600 65 years and over 44,800