The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published further results from the 2021 Census, helping us to better our understanding of the Somerset population. The latest results reveal insights into the health of the Somerset population, and the numbers of people caring for family and friends.
It should be remembered that the 2021 Census is a snapshot of the population on 21st March 2021, a time during which coronavirus restrictions were in place. These restrictions will likely have impacted on living arrangements for certain groups – such as university students – and will therefore have an impact on the census results.
General Health
Census respondents were asked to assess their general health on a five-point scale: "Very good", "Good", "Fair", "Bad", or "Very bad". At the 2021 census, 81.2% of Somerset residents reported being in either Good or Very good health. 5.1% of Somerset residents were in Bad or Very bad health.
When standardised for age to allow comparison against national figures, Somerset residents were more likely to report being in Good or Very good health, and less likely to report Bad or Very bad health.
The general health of Somerset residents appears largely unchanged in the 10 years since the 2011 census. Age-standardised rates for Somerset are not available for 2011. However, as the proportion of Somerset residents reporting good health has remained consistent whilst the Somerset population has further aged since 2011, it could be assumed that when standardised for age the general health of Somerset residents has improved.
It should be kept in mind that the 2021 census was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and this may have influenced how people perceived and rated their health.
Disability
More than 100,000 Somerset residents have their day-to-day activities limited to some extent due to disability or a long-term health condition. This represents 18.7% of Somerset residents, or nearly one in five. These individuals would meet the definition of being disabled under the Equality Act. A further 45,000 Somerset residents (7.9% of all residents) have a long-term health condition which does not limit their day-to-day activities.
The number of Somerset residents with a disability in 2021 is 6.8% higher than in 2011, although as a proportion of the total Somerset population is broadly unchanged. It should be noted that changes to the way this question was asked in 2021 have made it difficult to draw direct comparisons with previous years. Nationally, the proportion of the population with a disability dropped over the same period.
When expressed as an age-standardised rate to enable comparison between areas of different population structures, Somerset has a rate of disability slightly below the national figure for England (17.4%, compared to 17.7% nationally).
These self-reported figures are the best source we have for understanding the extent of the local population affected by disability.
Number of disabled people in the household
Around one in three – a total of more than 80,000 – Somerset households are home to one or more disabled residents. Of these, nearly 17,000 are home to two or more disabled residents; 6.6% of all Somerset households.
Unpaid care
There were around 50,000 Somerset residents who were providing unpaid care to a friend or relative at the time of the 2021 census. Of those, 26,000 – or 30% - provide more than 50 hours of care each week.
When expressed as an age-standardised rate to account for differences in population structure, the proportion of unpaid carers in Somerset is in-line with the national figure.
Numbers of unpaid carers – both locally and nationally – have decreased since the 2011 census. Within Somerset, the number of residents providing unpaid care has decreased by over 13% in the 10-year period. This decrease has not been evenly distributed, with the number of residents providing care for fewer than 20 hours each week dropping by 34%, whilst numbers providing over 20 hours have increased by 25%.
There is no single explanation for the decrease in the number of people self-reporting that they are providing unpaid care, although the ONS have provided some possible explanations:
70.5% of working age people in Somerset are qualified to at least Level 2 on the National Qualifications Framework (equivalent to 5 GCSEs at grades A* to C), higher than the national average of 67.3%.