FOI Reference: FOI/2022/4317
You asked
I should be grateful if you'd send me a link for the 2021 infant mortality data for Councils in England & Wales, which I believe to be due for release around now.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
The latest Child and Infant mortality data available is Child and infant mortality in England and Wales: 2020, the infant mortality tables (birth cohort) were published on 17 February 2022. Table 2 holds data at local authority level.
2021 data is not yet on the release schedule but will likely be released early 2023.
As such, this information 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.
Unexplained deaths in infancy is provisionally scheduled for a release in September or October 2022. The publication date will be announced on our Release calendar in due course.