IOM Deaths by year.

Summary

The requester asked for monthly death totals in the Isle of Man from 2013 to 2021, but the Cabinet Office refused to provide monthly data or 2021 figures due to lack of availability and the requirement to create new information. Instead, the authority disclosed annual death totals by gender for the years 2013 through 2020.

Key Facts

• The Cabinet Office does not hold monthly death data for the requested period.
• The request for 2021 data was refused because the annual processing work was not yet complete.
• The authority cited Section 11(3)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 as a practical refusal.
• Annual death statistics by gender were provided for the years 2013 to 2020.
• The requester was advised to contact the authority again later for 2021 figures.

Data Disclosed

• 2013: 778 total deaths (411 male, 367 female)
• 2014: 805 total deaths (378 male, 427 female)
• 2015: 852 total deaths (418 male, 434 female)
• 2016: 856 total deaths (428 male, 428 female)
• 2017: 836 total deaths (409 male, 427 female)
• 2018: 919 total deaths (457 male, 462 female)
• 2019: 840 total deaths (419 male, 421 female)
• 2020: 917 total deaths (479 male, 438 female)
• Request received: 2021-08-05
• Response date: 2021-08-20
• Case reference: 1939653

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Practical refusal)
• Section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Not required to create or derive information)

Original Request

Hello. I did email but had no respon, so sorry to bother you. Could you provide all deaths from the years 2013 to 2021. Totals for each month of the year from 2013-2021 or which ever month is the last full month you have figures for in 2021. Thank you.

Data Tables (6)

Full Response Text

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244 Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 1939653 20 August 2021

Dear ###

This request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

We write further to your request which was received on 5 August 2021 and which states:

"Hello. I did email but had no respon, so sorry to bother you. Could you provide all deaths from the years 2013 to 2021. Totals for each month of the year from 2013-2021 or which ever month is the last full month you have figures for in 2021. Thank you." Our response is as follows: The Cabinet Office do not hold the data for all deaths by month as requested from 2013 to 2021. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, under Section 11(3)(b) a practical refusal exists. Complying with the request for information would require the public authority to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3) (things a public authority is not required to do by the Act); • Create or derive information from information that it holds, • Undertake research into, or analysis or, information that it holds, and • Undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds. For these reasons above the Cabinet Office is not obliged to comply with your request.
However, we have supplied the information below that we do hold, which is for total deaths by year from 2013 up to 2020.

Year Number of Deaths Registered Male Female 2013 778 411 367 2014 805 378 427 2015 852 418 434 2016 856 428 428 2017 836 409 427 2018 919 457 462 2019 840 419 421 2020 917 479 438 The information for the deaths by year for 2021 is not held as it is not available yet.
Complying with the request for information for 2021 would require the Cabinet Office to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3) (things a public authority is not required to do by the Act) as it has not been processed as yet as it is an annual piece of work.
As the data is not available as yet, nor is provided monthly for 2021, you may wish to contact the Cabinet Office again at a later date to allow for completion of the work to request the annual death figures for the year 2021. Please quote the reference number 1939653 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im.

Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely