You asked
Please provide the following statistics/ analysis regarding the total number of Covid 19 related deaths in the UK as of 22nd August 2020:
The total number (to date) of COVID 19 related deaths within the BAME population/community within the UK?
The total number (to date) of COVID 19 related deaths within the White population/community within the UK?
We said
Thank you for your request.
We hold mortality information for England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.
Deaths related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) broken down by ethnic group are available in Table 2 of the following publication: Coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by ethnic group, England and Wales: 2 March 2020 to 15 May 2020. The data in this publication are produced by linking census and mortality records on deaths registered up to 15 May 2020. This is the latest data available. This publication is scheduled to be updated on 18 September 2020, with information ranging from 2 March to 24 August 2020.
As there is an intention to publish the requested information in the future, this information is considered exempt according to Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. Whilst we recognise the desirability of information being freely available, we also acknowledge that public authorities must have the freedom to be able to determine their own publication timetables. This allows them to deal with the necessary preparation, administration, and context of publication. Furthermore, public interest is best served through the public having confidence that the information published by ONS is accurate and final. Release on an ad-hoc basis would not achieve this aim and will cause unnecessary confusion if they were to be misrepresented. In this case, exempting the information clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.