Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the COVID-19 death statistics disclosed at the daily briefings.

All data released by the Department is robust and includes only cases officially confirmed by NHS England or the devolved administrations, following discussion with next of kin.

The Government publishes daily figures on confirmed COVID-19 deaths in hospital, as that gives us the most up to date figures on a consistent basis. The vast majority of serious cases and fatalities of the virus will occur in hospital settings.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) are also publishing statistics from deaths registered in a given week, which include deaths outside hospital such as care homes. From 28 April 2020, the ONS will publish counts of deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes, based on reporting from care home operators to the Care Quality Commission. These figures will put deaths involving COVID-19 in care homes in proper context, alongside the ONS’s more comprehensive figures.