Submission relating to whether Vital Statistics 4 data should continue to be published by ONS

You asked

Please disclose all of the written submissions relating to whether or not Vital Statistics 4 data should continue to be published by ONS.

We said

​Thank you for your request.

Historically, data relating to Vital Statistics 4 was obtainable under data access agreement due to the lower geographical boundaries. However, most public Vital Statistics tables started being incorporated within published outputs apart from ward level data. We moved ward outputs to middle super output area (MSOA), which is a more stable geography and more consistent in size. This led to decreasing demand for VS4 data. As such, a decision was made to discontinue the dataset.

The three attached documents provide everything we hold relating to the consultation process which led to the discontinuation of Vital Statistics 4. Document 3 contains information regarding the outcomes of the consultation. Documents 1 and 2 contain two of the responses we received.

Personal information has been redacted from these documents in line with Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Information considered out of scope of the request has also been redacted.

If you require access to these Vital Statistics, please see below for guidance:

Mortality data by MSOA is available as part of our explorable NOMIS webservice.

• Select the geography (England and Wales, regional or by local authority).
• Select Age - All ages or 5-year age bands.
• Select Gender - Total or Male/Female
• Select rates - All deaths, rates or percentage of population for example.
• Select cause of death (ICD10 code search is available).
• Select format (Excel or CSV for example)  

Births data by local authority is available in our annual Births Characteristics dataset, this can be found on table 1.

Marriage data by local authority is available in our annual Marriages in England and Wales dataset, this can be found on table 14.

We do not hold Births and Marriages data at a lower geography, we would need use a high level of statistical skill and judgement in order to create bespoke analysis or table. Special extracts and tabulations of mortality data 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.