Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the median time taken to register a death was in each (a) integrated care board and (b) local authority area in the most recent six months for which data is available.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024, through the Death Certification Strategic Board and a cross-Government data strategy group. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes a weekly deaths release which includes the provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the latest weeks, and which is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/weeklyprovisionalfiguresondeathsregisteredinenglandandwales

As part of this release, the ONS publishes data on the median time taken to register a death in England and Wales in each region. This data is also split by certification type and place of occurrence. The latest data available covers deaths registered in the week ending 18 April 2025. The ONS does not publish any data on the median time taken in integrated care boards or local authorities.

The introduction of medical examiners is in part about making sure deaths are properly described and improving practice, but the impact on the bereaved is also central. The reforms aim to put the bereaved at the centre of the process, and the medical examiner’s office must offer a conversation with representatives of the deceased, so they can ask any questions they have about the death or to raise concerns. Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something we will continue to monitor with NHS England.