The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.Letter from Karen Dunnell, November 2008:"As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many excess deaths from cold weather there were in (a) North Yorkshire and (b) Vale of York constituency in each year since 1997. (237110)""Estimates of excess winter deaths are based on the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). It is not possible to say whether these deaths were related to cold weather. The table attached provides the number of excess winter deaths in (a) North Yorkshire county, and (b) Vale of York parliamentary constituency, 1997/98 to 2005/06 (the latest available)." Table 1: Excess winter deaths¹, ², North Yorkshire county and Vale of York parliamentary constituency³,1997-98 to 2005-06 Deaths (persons) Winter North Yorkshire Vale of York 1997-98 350 90 1998-99 500 100 1999-00 580 80 2000-01 330 60 2001-02 330 30 2002-03 200 40 2003-04 350 40 2004-05 280 30 2005-06 300 10 ¹ The estimated number of excess winter deaths is the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the following four months (April to July). Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 to reflect the fact that they are estimates. ² Data are based on deaths occurring in each month. ³ Based on boundaries as of 2008.