To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died from cancer in each parliamentary constituency in each year since 1999.

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died from lung cancer in each parliamentary constituency in each year since 1999.

The information requested is given in the table Deaths from lung cancer, by parliamentary constituency, 1999 – 2005 a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 41645).

As requested, the table presents the absolute numbers of deaths from cancer. However, because the population of Scotland is ageing, these may give a false impression of trends in the risk of dying from lung cancer. To aid interpretation, a table giving age-standardised rates, which take account of changes in the age structure of the population, has also been provided.