You asked
Please provide a break down of how many 'Deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate (ICD-10 U07.1 and U07.2)' were coded as U07.1 and how many coded as U07.2 please.
In addition, please confirm how many of the deaths in 'Deaths where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate (ICD-10 U07.1 and U07.2)' were also included in 'Deaths where the underlying cause was respiratory disease (ICD-10 J00-J99)'.
We said
Thank you for your request.
At present, latest weekly deaths data are provisional and subject to change, so we have not yet published detailed cause of death information and we are therefore unable to provide you with the information you have requested.
Our definition of COVID-19 (regardless of whether it was the underlying cause or mentioned elsewhere on the death certificate) includes some cases where the certifying doctor suspected the death involved COVID-19 but was not certain. For example, a doctor may have clinically diagnosed COVID-19 based on symptoms, but this diagnosis may not have been confirmed because no test was available, or the test result was inconclusive.
Of the 73,477 deaths due to COVID-19, 4,009 (5.5% were classified as "suspected" COVID-19. Including all deaths involving COVID-19, "suspected" COVID-19 was recorded on 5.6% (4,589 deaths) of all deaths involving COVID-19 in England and Wales. This information is available in the main article of the December 2020 monthly deaths publication (See definition of COVID-19).
When death registrations data for 2020 are finalised in July 2021, a breakdown of deaths between ICD-10 codes U07.1 and U07.2 will be published on our website in the annual Deaths Registered Series and data will be added to NOMIS shortly afterwards. Finalised publication dates will be announced via our Release Calendar.
As such, analysis showing COVID-19 death data split by U07.1 and U07.2 codes 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 order to identify the number of deaths where respiratory disease was the underlying cause and COVID-19 was mentioned as a contributory factor, we would need to create bespoke analysis. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Public Authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests. We therefore consider this to be information not held.
Special extracts and tabulations of 2020 mortality data for England and Wales will be available to order once death registrations data are finalised in July 2021 (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.gsi.gov.uk