FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3538
You asked
Please supply the monthly stillbirth rate (i.e. incidences per 1000 births) that the ONS has recorded for the year 2021 that is not already in the public domain within ONS reports.
We said
Thank you for you request.
We publish Births and Stillbirth statistics in an annual cycle. Publicly available births and stillbirths 2020 (based on birth registrations) for England and Wales:
- Birth summary tables Released 14 October 2021
- Births characteristics Released 13 January 2022
Births by parents characteristics Released 13 January 2022
The annual births release covering stillbirths in 2021 is provisionally scheduled for release in the summer 2022. Our usual publication schedule of births statistics and the different sources used for births data are described in the User guide to birth statistics.
As such, the information you have requested about stillbirths in 2021 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.
In 2020, provisional births data was published for the first time in response to delays in birth registrations due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to monitor the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on births. Provisional births data are based on NHS Digital birth notifications, which is a document completed by the doctor or midwife present at the birth. ONS published 2 ad hoc provisional births releases:
- Provisional births in England and Wales : 2020 and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2021 Released: 24 June 2021
- Provisional births in England and Wales : 2020 Released: 7 December 2020
Provisional births and stillbirths data is not part of the ONS annual publication cycle. Future adhoc provisional births and stillbirths will be based on ONS monitoring birth registration services and assessing any impacts delays on the ONS usual annual release cycle.
Bespoke tabulations for England and Wales, are available to order, subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate. Such enquiries would fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk. However, please note that final figures for 2021 will not be available until summer 2022. Provisional data would be based on birth notifications and as such would not be directly comparable with other birth statistics derived using birth registrations.