Yes - highly useful, thank you. I could see that there might be problems getting reports in of deaths but I'd no idea of the precise process of reporting or the (dis-)incentives to report. I'd take a wild guess that there might also be issues with people and officialdom losing NHS numbers, perhaps when moving between doctors, and having new ones created for them, with the result that the original would never be closed down. E.g., I've no idea where my number is / was.... Adrian