Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the document entitled Analysis of the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19 and the approach to tiering, published by the Government on 30 November, what assessment the Government made in preparing that report of whether deaths recorded as with COVID might have been the consequence of other conditions or ailments.

Our report ‘Analysis of the health, economic and social effects of COVID-19 and the approach to tiering’ makes extensive use of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) deaths data. The ONS reports on registered deaths where COVID-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

The ONS has reported that in 91.8% of cases in England where COVID-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, it was found to be the underlying cause of death.

Full details are available in the ONS publication linked below:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/monthlymortalityanalysisenglandandwales/october2020