Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of recent data published by the Office of National Statistics on excess deaths.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities works alongside the Office for National Statistics to understand excess deaths. A combination of factors has contributed to these excess deaths, including high flu prevalence, the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

On 24 January 2023, the Government announced that it will publish a Major Conditions Strategy and an interim report will be published in the summer. The strategy will set out a strong and coherent policy agenda that sets out a shift to integrated, whole-person care. The strategy will tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England including, cancers, cardiovascular disease, including stroke and diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, dementia, mental ill health and musculoskeletal conditions.