§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths were caused by asthma in each year since 1 January 1906; and how many were caused by sudden onset attacks. broken down by(a) age, (b) sex and (c) health authority. [159784]
§ Ruth Kelly[holding answer 8 March 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Cheryl Gillan dated 9 March 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many deaths were caused by asthma in each year since 1st January 1996; and how many were caused by sudden onset attacks, broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) health authority.
Numbers of total asthma deaths in England and Wales by sex and five-year age groups are published annually by the Office for National Statistics in the series "DH2, Mortality Statistics, Cause" The latest publication is for 2002 and copies of this, and earlier volumes, are in the Library of the House.
Asthma deaths caused by sudden onset attacks cannot be separately identified.
I am placing four tables in the House of Commons Library, showing the numbers of deaths from asthma in Strategic Health Authorities in England and for Wales since 1996.
These tables respectively show the number of deaths for (a) men, (b) women, (c) persons aged under 65 and (d) persons aged 65 and over.