To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of all drug misuse deaths in England occurred in London in the latest period for which figures are available. (240588)

I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated December 2008:

As National Statistician. I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what proportion of all drug misuse deaths in England occurred in London in the latest period for which figures arc available. (240588)

The proportion of all deaths in England that were to residents of London government office region¹, for which the underlying cause was drug poisoning² where any drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was mentioned on the death certificate, was 14 per cent in 2007³ (the latest year available).

¹ Based on boundaries as of 2008.

² Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where the underlying cause was due to drug poisoning (corresponding ICD-10 codes are shown in the following table) and where a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was mentioned on the death certificate.

³ Figures are for deaths registered in 2007.