London, Aug 9 : London's population has been rising steadily since the mid-1980s but evidence has emerged that Brexit and the high cost of buying and renting homes is deterring new people from coming to live in the city.

The London Intelligence Report published on Wednesday by the think-tank the Centre for London showed that in the year to mid-2017 London's population experienced the slowest rate of growth in over a decade, Xinhua news agency reported.

The growth rate in the city's population, which stands at 8.1 million people, nearly halved in the first full year since the Brexit referendum in June 2016 to 0.6 per cent per year, down from the 2015-16 figure of 1.1 per cent.

This is the slowest rate of growth in over a decade, and means the 2017 population was 79,000 (0.9 per cent) lower than expected within 2016-based projections.

Tom Colthorpe, researcher on the report told Xinhua: "There are many fewer people coming to London from other countries."

"There is a bit of a nosedive. There is a pretty significant drop in international immigration which some might point to Brexit." The contribution of net international migration has declined considerably year-on-year to a net gain of just under 83,000 individuals.

Though international migration remains the largest contributor to population growth, it now only contributes 5,000 more individuals than those added through natural change (births and deaths).

Registrations for national insurance numbers (known as NI, a form of health tax necessary for most types of work) continued to fall, a trend seen since the Brexit vote.

The number of EU nationals registering for NI fell by a quarter over the year, and the most recent quarter available (Q1 this year) saw the total 16 percent smaller compared to a year previously, and only just over half the Q3 2014 peak level.

At the same time, non-EU registrations grew by 9 per cent, reversing the trend seen in the previous four consecutive quarters of falls.

"It is obvious with EU citizens, that some of that (decline) is down to Brexit and that is down to the uncertain status of EU nationals in the UK," Colthorpe said.

Figures in 2014 for EU nationals getting NI numbers spiked, when Romanian and Bulgarian nationals were allowed to apply for the first time, as part of the EU accession agreement for those countries in 2007.

Colthorpe said: "When you see that in 2014 after the accession of Romania, Bulgaria, a lot of that causes a big spike of 80,000 in a quarter. Some of the decline has been because that pent-up demand has tailed off, but the fall has been accelerated by the Brexit factor."

British nationals were also leaving the city, in higher numbers than previously. "Looking over a longer period, after the financial crisis people flocked to London, but now that trend is reversing,"he said.

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Bengaluru, Apr 04 (PTI): Nearly 70 per cent of maternal deaths that occurred between April 1 and December 31, 2024, could have been prevented by following certain practices such as optimising cesarean rates and ensuring health facility preparedness, according to the interim maternal death audit report released by the Health and Family Welfare Department on Friday.

Following a sudden spurt in maternal deaths in Ballari during November 2024, the Karnataka government constituted a technical team of experts to examine all maternal deaths from April 1, 2024, and submit an audit report.

According to the report, out of the 464 maternal deaths analysed across districts in the state during this period, 18 were linked to the use of substandard Ringer Lactate solution, reportedly supplied by West Bengal-based manufacturer Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals.

Of the 18 maternal deaths associated with the Ringer Lactate issue, five were reported in Ballari, four in Raichur, four in Bengaluru Urban, three in Uttara Kannada, and one each in the Yadgir and Belagavi districts.

The audit found that 65 per cent of the total maternal deaths occurred in government hospitals, 22 per cent in private hospitals, 10 per cent in transit, and 2 per cent at home.

It noted that the 10 deaths that occurred in transit were caused due to "negligence of the service providers."

The report also revealed that 50 per cent of the maternal deaths occurred among women aged 19 to 25 years, while 6 per cent were among women aged above 35.

Further, 72 per cent of the deaths were among first-time and second-time pregnant women.

Notably, 68.5 per cent of the women who died had one or more risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, infections, or severe anemia—indicating that high-risk pregnancies significantly contributed to maternal mortality.

In contrast, 31 per cent of the deaths occurred in women with no known risk factors.

The audit report stated that 37 per cent of the maternal deaths followed normal deliveries, while 63 per cent were associated with cesarean sections.

According to the state government, Karnataka has made steady progress in reducing maternal deaths and has already achieved the Sustainable Development Goal of a Maternal Mortality Ratio below 70 by 2030.

"As per the latest 2024–25 statistics, the state MMR is 57. Compared to the previous financial year, maternal deaths have decreased in the first three months of this year. In January–March 2024, 148 maternal deaths were reported, while in the same period in 2025, the number dropped to 102," the department said in a statement.

The state-level expert committee also submitted 27 recommendations to improve the quality of antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum services in healthcare facilities.

Key recommendations include capacity building, equipping facilities with essential drugs and equipment, strengthening blood storage units, and mandating hospital stays of three days after normal delivery and seven days after cesarean delivery.

The committee also recommended post-mortem examinations in cases where the cause of death is unclear.

"Birth planning should be done for all pregnant women, including decisions on the time, place, and mode of delivery. Necessary logistics such as transportation—via 108 services or local transport—should be discussed and finalised well before the expected delivery date," the report stated.

According to the Health Department, the committee reviewed all maternal deaths, including those in private facilities, that occurred in Karnataka from April 1 to December 31, 2024.

The audits were conducted by examining healthcare processes based on medical records and oral submissions from doctors and specialists involved in the care of the deceased patients.

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