In this issue:
The latest Universal Credit claimant count shows that Somerset had a total of 15,060 claimants in January 2021. This is down from a peak of 16,935 in August 2020 but is more than double the number from January 2020 (7,380). The figure represents a claimant rate of 4.7% of the working age population, lower than both the regional figure (4.8%) and the national figure (6.2%).
Young people (aged 18-24) are more likely to be claiming Universal Credit with 7.9% of those in this age group recorded as Universal Credit claimants. For comparison the figure for those aged 25-49 is 5.3% and for those aged 50+ it is 3.3%.
You can explore the data further at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/
There were estimated to be the equivalent of 0.89 jobs for every Somerset resident aged 16-64 according to the latest annual jobs density figures from the Office for National Statistics. This figure is identical to the previous year and is higher than the national figure of 0.87.
Within Somerset, Somerset West & Taunton had the highest job density at 0.99, followed by Mendip (0.87), South Somerset (0.85) and Sedgemoor (0.82).
These job density estimates are for 2019 and therefore the impact of COVID-19 will not be reflected in this dataset.
For the full dataset, see:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/
The number of non-UK nationals registering for a National Insurance Number (NINo) in Somerset decreased significantly in 2020. There were 1,157 registrations in 2020; the lowest figure since 2002.
After peaking in 2016 at 3,913 there had been two consecutive years of declining numbers before a slight increase to 3,302 in 2019. The 2020 figure represents a drop of 65% from 2019.
The percentage of migrant workers registering for a National Insurance number in 2020 who were from the European Union was 48%, down from 77% in 2019 and 83% in 2018. Romania remains the most common country of origin, with 241 registrations in 2020. India was the second most common country of origin in 2020, with 226 registrations, leapfrogging Poland which was the third most common country of origin in 2020 having previously been in second position.
Data is published through the Department for Work and Pensions' 'Stat-Xplore' tool:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Somerset was estimated to have 47 people sleeping rough according to the latest annual rough sleeping snapshot, conducted in October-November 2020. This snapshot provides an estimate for the number of people sleeping rough on a single night. Somerset West and Taunton had the highest number of rough sleepers with 18, followed by Mendip with 17, Sedgemoor with 9 and South Somerset with 3.
The 2020 figure represents a 34% decrease from the 2019 estimate of 71 rough sleepers which was the highest number since estimates began in 2010. Sedgemoor has seen the highest decrease from 2019 to 2020, with an estimated drop of 16 people (64%), whilst Mendip has actually seen a small increase, from 13 people in 2019 to 17 in 2020.
For the full dataset, see:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies
The average house in Somerset cost £254,740 in December 2020. This is a 7.8% increase from the previous year and is the highest year on year increase since 2010.
Average property prices in Somerset are marginally above the national average of £251,000, although national averages have increased at a higher rate over the past twelve months: 8.5% annual increase nationally in comparison to 7.8% for Somerset.
In the South West region, the average property price was £282,388, an increase in 10.2% on the previous year. This means that prices in Somerset are on average £27,648 (9.7%) lower than the South West region as a whole.
For the full dataset, see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/uk-house-price-index
Public Health England has updated its Child Health Profiles with new data for 13 indicators. The majority of indicators now use 2019/20 data.
Amongst the updated indicators, new data shows that Somerset remains better than the national benchmark for several measures, including child mortality and low birth weight full term babies.
For other updated indicators, Somerset remains worse than the national benchmark, including hospital admissions due to substance misuse, self-harm and mental health conditions. Data for these indicators refer to episodes of admission and not persons. Any indicator based on hospital admissions may be influenced by local variation in referral and admission practices as well as variation in incidence or prevalence.
The profiles are available as an interactive tool at: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile-group/child-health/profile/child-health-overview
Somerset Waste Partnership collected a total of 255,739 tonnes of household waste in the 2019/20 financial year, a 1% increase from the previous year.
53% of all waste collected from households was either recycled, composted or reused, up from 52% in 2018/19. This is higher than the figure for the whole of England, where 43% of all waste is recycled, composted or reused.
For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env18-local-authority-collected-waste-annual-results-tables
7.7 miles were added to the Somerset road network in 2020 taking it to a total length of 4,237.7 miles. This represents the twelfth longest network of any local authority area in England.
The Somerset road network is comprised of 32.6 miles of motorway, 445.8 miles of A roads, and 3759.3 miles of minor roads.
For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/road-length-statistics
Somerset's new Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for 2019/20 is now published at http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/jsna/. The focus of this JSNA is on the health impacts of the climate emergency, discussing the existing and potential health impacts, as well as the mitigation, adaptation and behavioural change needed to address these challenges.
A total of 595 restaurants in Somerset (excluding chains with over 25 outlets) participated in the Eat Out to Help Out scheme during August 2020, claiming discounts for approximately 874,000 meals. The total discount amount claimed by Somerset restaurants is estimated at £4.8 million.
Somerset West & Taunton had the highest numbers of participating restaurants and meals claimed for, whilst Sedgemoor had the lowest numbers of both participating restaurants and meals.
For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eat-out-to-help-out-statistics-geographic-breakdown
A reminder that census day is Sunday 21st March. All households should receive a letter with an access code to complete the census online. If the letter does not arrive or you have lost your access code, you can request a new code online at https://census.gov.uk/
The following are due for release at sub-regional geographies over the coming weeks:
And finally...
Please email AHolly@somerset.gov.uk
You can see Ofsted ratings for all Somerset schools on our Ofsted dashboard.