FOI Reference: FOI/2021/3323
You asked
Under the Freedom of information act can you let me have the number of people who died from Covid-19 and no other illnesses from November 2020 to November 2021?
We said
Thank you for your request.
We count a death involving COVID-19 as a death where COVID-19 is mentioned on the death certificate. Doctors are required by law to certify the cause of death 'to the best of their knowledge and belief'.
This means the medical professional believed COVID-19 had been involved in the chain of events that led to the death. Testing could inform part of the information provided by the medical professional, but they could also use other information (such as symptoms and x-rays, for example).
This means that someone could have COVID-19 on the death certificate who may not have been tested for COVID-19.
Also, in some cases, the person may have tested positive for COVID-19, but the medical professional believed that COVID-19 did not play a part in the death. This means COVID-19 would not appear on the death certificate.
Every quarter we update analysis in those who have died with and without pre-existing conditions mentioned on the death certificate where COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death. This is available via the following link to our monthly mortality analysis.
Between October 2020 and September 2021, of the 82,825 deaths due to COVID-19 in England and Wales 10,962 deaths had no pre-existing conditions mentioned on the death certificate (13.2% of deaths due to COVID-19).
October and November 2021 data will be published with Quarter 4 data in February 2022. As such, some of the information you have requested is considered exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. Furthermore, as a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.
For further information, please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.