According to current provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of recorded deaths in England and Wales during December 2016 was 45,370.
Compared to November, this figure represents a fall of 1,134 deaths and in comparison to December 2015, a decline of 139 deaths.
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 December, the majority of deaths were registered in the South East, with the provisional number reaching 6,931. This was followed by the North West which recorded 6,255 in December. In contrast, the region with the least number of registered deaths was the North East with 2,502. Second to least was Wales, where 2,842 deaths were recorded.
