According to current provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of recorded deaths in England and Wales during January 2017 was 57,330.
Compared to November, this figure represents a growth of 11,960 deaths and compared to January 2016, a growth of 9,904 deaths.
The high level of deaths recorded in the first month of 2017 also corresponds with circulating influenza.
The ONS note that the number of registrations made is affected by the amount of moveable public holidays and weekends during the month. At these times, offices close and therefore can distort the number of deaths recorded for that particular month.
During January, the majority of deaths were registered in the South East, with the provisional number reaching 9,042. This was followed by the North West which recorded 7,618 in January. In contrast, the region with the least number of registered deaths was the North East with 2,905. Second to least was Wales, where 3,585 deaths were recorded.
