ONS mortality data

You asked

The HSCIC states that they had a data request from University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) between April and June 2014 that had been approved by ONS. This can be confirmed in Row 18 here:

http://www.hscic.gov.uk/media/15199/Register-of-approved-data-releases---October-2014/xls/Data_releases_register_-_01-04-2014_to_30-06-2014_-_FINAL.xlsx

Please provide all the information the ONS has on this data release and any underlying project being done by UHB that had been approved by the ONS. Please provide any emails relating to this data release request or its approval by the ONS. Please provide the application form and all the information provided to the ONS by UHB in order for them to have approved this request. The request states it was 'commissioned by the Secretary of State for health' - please provide any evidence of this.

Finally please state whether any funds were provided by the ONS or the Department of Health, or whether any alternative sources of funding were declared for this data release or any project underlying it.

We said

The release you refer to is the release of ONS mortality data linked to Hospital Episode Statistics data held by HSCIC and released by the HSCIC to University Hospitals Birmingham. The data were released for the purpose of supporting the development of the Summary Hospital-level Mortality Indicator. The Department of Health had commissioned UHB (see attached letter) to carry out this work and the ONS mortality data element of the linked dataset was released under s42(4) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. HSCIC are authorised by ONS to approve release of ONS mortality data linked to HES data under s42(4).

No funds were provided for this release by ONS.