Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Excess Deaths: Policy Implications

Tuesday 24 January 2023 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Excess deaths data for England were updated on the gov.uk website on 12 January.
  • The UK's working-age all-cause mortality rate was 8.3% above the five-year average and the fifth highest in Europe.
  • Local commissioning groups and local authorities make decisions on public health spending.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alex Cunningham Lab
NHS
Context

The number of excess deaths in 2022 has raised concerns about the effectiveness of current government policies.

Question

What assessment have you made of the implications for your policies of the number of excess deaths in 2022?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

Excess deaths data are published on the gov.uk website, which was most recently updated on 12 January. They show that causes of death from conditions such as ischemic heart disease contributed to excess deaths in England in the past year.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific impact and implications for policies were not detailed.

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Q2 Debbie Abrahams Lab Oldham East and Saddleworth
NHS
Context

The UK's all-cause mortality rate is the fifth highest in Europe, with excess deaths disproportionately affecting deprived communities. The richest 1% have gained nearly twice as much wealth as the remaining 99%.

Question

The UK's all-cause mortality for working-age people was 8.3% above the average for the previous five years and the fifth highest in Europe. On top of that, excess deaths are disproportionately experienced by the most deprived and by people of African, Caribbean and Asian descent. Given that these figures are driven by structural inequalities, and that those inequalities are getting worse—the richest 1% have bagged nearly twice as much wealth as the remaining 99% in the past two years—does the Minister think that it is appropriate to recommend that people pay for their GPs?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

The Government are not recommending that people pay for their GPs. In fact, we are investing more in primary care than ever before, unlike the shadow Secretary of State who wants to dismantle the GP system and privatise the healthcare system as well.

Not addressed: The appropriateness of charging for GP services was not directly addressed; instead the Minister criticised the opposition's policies.

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Q3 Alex Cunningham Lab
NHS
Context

Smoking costs Stockton's NHS £9 million a year and social care £5 million a year, with an additional £47 million in lost productivity and premature deaths.

Question

According to Cancer Research and Action on Smoking and Health, smoking costs the NHS in Stockton £9 million a year and social care £5 million a year, and it costs some £47 million in lost productivity, unemployment and premature deaths. Assuming that one day soon we will get the Government to back a control plan, will Ministers ensure that it includes the desperately needed funding for local smoking cessation services?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

Local decisions on public health are taken by local commissioning groups and local authorities, and it is for each local area to decide how it spends the money on public health.

Not addressed: The question about funding was not directly answered; instead the Minister referred to local decision-making processes.

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Q4 Esther McVey Con Tatton
NHS Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Context

The chief medical officer warned that non-covid excess deaths are driven by patients not getting statins or blood pressure medicines during the pandemic, but data from OpenPrescribing.net shows no drop in statin prescriptions.

Question

The chief medical officer recently warned that non-covid excess deaths are being driven in part by patients not getting statins or blood pressure medicines during the pandemic. However, when looking at the data on statins on OpenPrescribing.net, which is based on monthly NHS prescribing, there appears not to be a drop, so where is the evidence? If there is none, what is causing these excess deaths? Will the Minister commit to an urgent and thorough investigation on the matter?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

We are seeing an increase in excess deaths in this country, but we are also seeing that in Wales, in Scotland, in Northern Ireland and across Europe. There is a range of factors. As we saw, there was an increase in December in the number of people being admitted with flu, covid and other healthcare conditions.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The need for an investigation was not specifically addressed; instead general factors were mentioned.

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Q5 Andrew Bridgen Con
NHS
Context

The Office for National Statistics has not issued mortality data by vaccination status since May last year.

Question

The Office for National Statistics has not issued mortality data by vaccination status since 31 May last year. Will the Minister confirm that her Department has collected that data for the rest of 2022 and inform the House when it will be published?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

I am happy to write to the hon. Gentleman with that information. However, I must be clear that we planned for an increase in admissions this winter. That is why we got on and delivered on our plans for 7,000 extra beds.

Not addressed: The request for data was not directly addressed; instead the Minister mentioned winter planning efforts.

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Q6 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
NHS
Context

There were 50,000 more deaths than expected in 2022. The Health Secretary has denied these figures.

Question

There were 50,000 more deaths than we would otherwise have expected in 2022. Excluding the pandemic, that is the worst figure since 1951. The Health Secretary—part man, part ostrich—says he does not accept those figures, but as many as 500 people are dying every week waiting for essential care, and we are still getting the same old Tory denial and buck-passing. In her answer, will the Minister finally take some responsibility, accept the ONS excess deaths figure, and recognise the damage that she and her Government are doing to our NHS?

Answer from Maria Caulfield

I prefer to deal with facts rather than—[Interruption.] The BMJ has ranked the UK mid-table in Europe for mortality figures, which makes it comparable with Italy. In fact, Germany has higher excess deaths, at 15.6%, as do Finland, at 20.5%, and Poland, at 13.3%. However, if the hon. Gentleman wants to hear about what is happening in Labour-run Wales, the statistics available on the gov.wales website show that Wales, in December, had the highest number of red calls ever and that only 39.5% received a response within eight minutes—the lowest figure on record.

Not addressed: The issue of responsibility was not addressed; instead the Minister criticized Labour-run areas.

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