SINePost newsletter - December 2019

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In this issue:

1. Somerset Indices of Deprivation summary report
2. Personal Well-being estimates
3. Latest Small Area Population Estimates
4. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings results
5. Business ‘Births’ and ‘Deaths’
6. Destinations of school and college leavers
7. Child Obesity statistics
8. Excess Winter Mortality
9. Hate crime statistics
10. Fly-tipping statistics
11. Forthcoming statistical releases

1. Somerset Indices of Deprivation summary report

A summary report on deprivation in Somerset, based on the recently updated English Indices of Deprivation (including the overall Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)), is now available on the Somerset Intelligence website:

www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/imd/

Findings from the report include:

• Somerset generally is better than the national average in terms of overall levels of deprivation.
• Since 2015 there has been a slight shift towards greater deprivation in Somerset relative to the rest of England, particularly in relation to the quality of housing.
• The number of ‘highly deprived’ neighbourhoods in Somerset (categorised as being within the 20% most deprived in England) increased to 29 in IMD 2019, up from 25 at the time of IMD 2015.
• Around 47,000 Somerset residents now live in a neighbourhood (LSOA) identified as one of the 20% most deprived in England.

The Somerset Intelligence website also offers an interactive map, presenting local IMD rankings, as well as the seven ‘domains’ of deprivation, the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI), and the Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI).

2. Personal Well-being estimates

Overall levels of happiness have improved in Somerset, while levels of life satisfaction and ‘feelings that things done in life are worthwhile’ have declined, according to latest annual figures from the Measuring National Well-being programme. Overall levels of anxiety have also increased.

Based on the results of the Annual Population Survey (APS), the programme aims to measure people’s ongoing quality of life and complement other national indicators.

Average ratings for Somerset in 2018/19 were 7.9 out of 10 for life satisfaction; 8.0 out of 10 for ‘worthwhile’; 7.7 out of 10 for happiness; and 2.8 out of 10 for anxiety.

Somerset was better than the national average in respect of all four indicators of subjective well-being. At a district level, Taunton Deane ranked highest for happiness and life satisfaction, while Mendip was best for ‘worthwhile’.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing

Previous analysis identified three groups of people at particular risk of having the poorest personal well-being. These were:

• unemployed or inactive renters with self-reported health problems or disability
• employed renters with self-reported health problems or disability
• retired homeowners with self-reported health problems or disability

3. Latest Small Area Population Estimates

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published latest population estimates for small areas, including electoral wards, output areas (OAs, LSOAs, MSOAs) and National Parks, by age and sex. The figures relate to the estimated usual resident population on 30 June 2018 (‘mid-2018’). The estimates can be useful for service planning and as denominators for the calculation of various local rates and indicators:

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates

The largest ward (by population) in Somerset is currently North Petherton (9,739 residents) and the smallest wards are Great Exmoor and West Quantock (1,156 residents each).

There continues to be wide variation in the age structure across Somerset, with rural areas tending to have older populations than urban areas; at the extremes in West Quantock ward, 45.3% of residents are aged 65 or over while in Bridgwater Victoria 11.8% are aged 65 or over. The proportion of children (aged 0-15) ranges from 24.5% (West Monkton) to 8.7% (West Quantock).

4. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings results

Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees living in Somerset increased by 6.8% to £567 in 2019 in provisional estimates from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The equivalent earnings figure for people working in Somerset (based on ‘place of work’ rather than ‘place of residence’) was lower, at £539, suggesting a leakage of Somerset workers to higher value jobs outside the county.

For Somerset residents, the distribution of earnings in 2019 saw the bottom 20% of full-time employees earn less than £390 per week. At the other end of the distribution, the top 20% of full-time employees earned more than £841 per week.

In 2019 the gender pay gap (based on average gross hourly earnings) for full-time employees was 15.1% for Somerset residents, compared to a UK average of 8.9%. It may be noted that these figures do not show differences in rates of pay for comparable jobs but are affected by factors such as the proportion of men and women in different types of occupations.

See: www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours

5. Business ‘Births’ and ‘Deaths’

The number of active enterprises in Somerset has increased marginally in the latest annual business demography statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (for 2018):

https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation

In summary:

• The number of active enterprises in Somerset increased by 15 in 2018 to a total of 22,555, a rise of 0.1%. This compared to a national (UK) rise of 0.5%.
• In 2018, there were 2,250 business births (start-ups) in Somerset, representing a ‘birth rate’ of 10.0%. This compared to a UK average birth rate of 12.9%.
• There were 2,020 business ‘deaths’ (closures) in Somerset in 2018, representing 9.0% of the total active enterprises in the county. This was a lower rate than the UK average (11.4%).
• Business survival rates in Somerset remain above the national average: 47.6% of enterprises started in Somerset in 2013 were still operating in 2018, compared to 42.4% of enterprises nationally.

6. Destinations of school and college leavers

The proportion of state-funded mainstream pupils in Somerset going into sustained education, training or employment after Key Stage 4 (GCSE or equivalent) remained at 95% in 2017/18, in annual figures from the Department for Education.  This proportion was marginally above the national average (of 94%).

The proportion of Somerset young people going into sustained education, employment or training the year after Key Stage 5 (A-level or equivalent Level 3 qualification) was 88% in 2017/18, the same as the national average proportion. The proportion of Somerset young people specifically going into an education setting was 47%, compared to 57% nationally.

Overall, 39% of students from state-funded mainstream schools and colleges in Somerset went to a higher education institution in 2017/18, well below the national proportion of 49%.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

7. Child Obesity statistics

Somerset has seen an increase in child obesity in Reception-age children but a decrease in Year 6 children according to latest annual results from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). Nationally there were increases in levels of obesity in respect of both groups.

In summary, for 2018/19:

• In Reception Year (age 4-5 years), 8.6% of Somerset children measured were obese. This percentage was below both regional (8.7%) and national (9.7%) averages.
• In Year 6 (age 10-11 years), 17.9% of Somerset children were obese; lower than the national average (20.2%) but higher than the regional average (16.5%).
• In Reception Year, 1.8% of Somerset children were recorded as severely obese (compared to 2.4% nationally). In Year 6, 3.6% of Somerset children were severely obese (compared to 4.4% nationally).

Nationally, analysis shows that obesity prevalence for children living in the most deprived areas is more than double that of those living in the least deprived areas, for both Reception and Year 6 children.

See: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical

8. Excess Winter Mortality

There were 540 excess winter deaths in Somerset in 2017/18 according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This represented an increase of 130 deaths on the 2016/17 figure, mirroring a national increase.

Within Somerset, South Somerset had the highest Excess Winter Mortality (EWM) ‘Index’; with 31% more deaths occurring in the winter period than the non-winter months. Sedgemoor had the second highest EWM Index (at 30%), followed by Somerset West and Taunton (28%) and Mendip (18%).

While local authority estimates for the 2018/19 winter period will not be published by the ONS until the end of 2020, provisional figures suggest that excess winter deaths for England as a whole declined by 53% (26,210 people) in 2018/19, representing the lowest number of excess winter deaths since winter 2013/14. The reduction is likely linked to milder weather experienced in the winter 2018/19 compared with the previous winter and the lower impact of influenza on the elderly.

For further details, including the definition of excess winter mortality, see:

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins

9. Hate crime statistics

Numbers of hate crime offences recorded in the Avon and Somerset police force area have declined in latest annual figures from the Home Office. There were a total of 2,961 offences recorded during 2018/19, representing a 6% fall on the 3,138 offences in 2017/18. Nationally, reported hate crime increased by 10%.

Most hate crime in Avon and Somerset in 2018/19 continues to be motivated by race (69%), with sexual orientation (13%) the next most common motivating factor, followed by disability (10%), religion (6%) and transgender (2%).

See: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2018-to-2019

10. Fly-tipping statistics

The total number of fly-tipping incidents recorded by local authorities in Somerset has declined to its lowest level since 2010/11, in annual figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra): www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england

There were 4,107 fly-tipping incidents recorded in 2018/19, compared to 4,628 in 2017/18, representing a fall of 13%. Nationally, fly-tipping incidents increased by 8% over the same period.

At a district level, Mendip continues to have the highest rate of recorded fly-tipping incidences in Somerset, with 13.6 per 1,000 population. Sedgemoor had the next highest rate (8.8 per 1,000 population), followed by South Somerset (4.9 per 1,000), Taunton Deane (4.8 per 1,000) and West Somerset (1.9 per 1,000).

Over half of incidents in Somerset (59%) involved household waste (comprising black bags or other household waste incidents). Consistent with previous years, the most common place for fly-tipping to occur was on highways (82% of incidents).

See: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken-in-england

11. Forthcoming statistical releases

The following are due for release at sub-regional geographies during December:

• Health state life expectancies, UK: 2016 to 2018 (ONS)
• Birth characteristics in England and Wales: 2018 (ONS)
• Local authority housing statistics data returns for 2018 to 2019 (MHCLG)
• Children looked after in England including adoption: 2018 to 2019 (DfE)
• Blue badge scheme statistics: 2019 (DfT)
• National General Practice Profiles: 2019 annual update (PHE)
• Estimates of station usage: 2018 to 2019 (ORR)

And finally ...