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<p>The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Professor Sir
Ian Diamond</strong> | National Statistician</p><p>The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon</p><p>House
of Lords<br> London<br> SW1A 0PW</p><p>10 February 2021</p><p> </p><p>Dear Baroness
Royall,</p><p> </p><p>As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics
Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking what estimate has
been made of proportion of deaths per year recorded as suicide where the person had
been diagnosed with a terminal illness <strong>(HL13017)</strong>; what consideration
has been given to collecting data on deaths recorded as suicides where a terminally
ill person has taken their own life <strong>(HL13018)</strong>; and the number of
people per year who die as a result of suicide and, prior to their deaths, (1) had
been diagnosed with, and (2) had been treated for (a) cancer, (b) neurological disease,
(c) respiratory disease, or (d) heart or circulatory disease, in the previous 12 months
<strong>(HL13019)</strong>.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS)
publishes annual suicide death registration statistics for England and Wales as part
of our annual statistical release for the UK[1]<sup>,[2]</sup>. The latest available
figures were published by the ONS in September 2020 and covered calendar years up
to 2019.</p><p> </p><p>The information we hold on deaths is limited to what is recorded
at death registration, which is based primarily on the death certificate by a doctor,
or information about the cause and circumstances of the death provided by a coroner.
We are unable at present to collect data or provide figures specifically on suicide
where the person had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, since information on
the deceased’s circumstances prior to death, such as diagnosis or treatment, is not
among the particulars generally recorded on the death certificate.</p><p> </p><p>Table
1 below shows the number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide, and where
the conditions requested where mentioned as contributory causes for the latest available
year. It is important to note that death certificates do not record all health conditions
the deceased might have had if they did not contribute directly or indirectly to the
cause of death.</p><p> </p><p>The ONS has acquired a range of other datasets, including
Hospital Episode Statistics and General Practitioner records, which will be linked
to mortality records. It is possible that we will be able to use such data linkages
in the future to understand how many people who die by suicide had a terminal illness.</p><p>
</p><p> </p><p>Yours sincerely,</p><p><strong>Professor Sir Ian Diamond</strong></p><p><strong>
</strong></p><p><strong>Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause was suicide
and where cancer, neurological, respiratory or heart disease was mentioned as a contributory
cause; England and Wales, registered in 2019<strong>[3]</strong><strong>[4]</strong><strong>[5]</strong><strong>[6]</strong><strong>[7]</strong><sup>1,2,3,4,5</sup></strong></p><p><strong>
</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Cause of death</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Deaths</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>All
Suicide</p></td><td><p>5,691</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>...of which mentioned cancer</p></td><td><p>56</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>...of
which mentioned neurological disease</p></td><td><p>264</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>...of
which mentioned respiratory disease</p></td><td><p>168</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>…of
which mentioned heart disease</p></td><td><p>321</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source:
<em>ONS</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/latest</p><p>[2]
Due to operational difficulties, suicides registered in 2019 in Northern Ireland and
Scotland were unavailable at the time of analysis, and so last year’s annual release
is for England and Wales only. The ONS will update the UK figures at a later stage.</p><p>[3]
The National Statistics definition of suicide is given in Box 1 below for deaths registered
since 2001.</p><p>[4] The definitions used to define the selected contributory causes
are given in Box 2 below.</p><p>[5] Figures for England and Wales (area code K04000001)
include deaths of non-residents, based on postcode boundaries as of November 2020.</p><p>[6]
Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year.
Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months
or even years for a suicide to be registered. More details can be found in the ‘Suicide
Registrations In The UK’ statistical bulletin.</p><p>[7] A single death certificate
may contain a number of contributory causes. For this reason, the categories above
are not mutually exclusive.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Box 1: International Classification
of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes used to define suicide</strong></p><p>
</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>ICD-10 codes</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Description</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Notes</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>X60-X84</p></td><td><p>Intentional
self-harm</p></td><td><p>Persons aged 10 years and above</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>
</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Y10-Y34</p></td><td><p>Injury/poisoning
of undetermined intent</p></td><td><p>Persons aged 15 years and above; excludes Y33.9
where coroner’s verdict was pending for the years 2001 - 2006</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p> </p><p><strong>Box 2: International Classification of Diseases, </strong><strong>Tenth
Revision (ICD-10) codes used to define the selected contributory causes</strong></p><p><strong>
</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>ICD-10 Codes</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Description</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>C00-D48</p></td><td><p>Cancer</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>G00-G99</p></td><td><p>Neurological
Disease</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>J00-J99</p></td><td><p>Respiratory Disease</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>I00-I99</p></td><td><p>Heart
Disease</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p>
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