SINePost newsletter - February 2017

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In this issue ...

1. University Admissions
2. Jobs Density estimates
3. Council Tax base: Dwelling numbers
4. Rough Sleeping estimates
5. Teenage Pregnancy Ward maps
6. Active People Survey results
7. A&E Attendances statistics
8. Small Area Domestic Electricity and Gas estimates
9. Household Solar Energy statistics
10. Use of Government Data survey
11. What’s New on the Somerset Intelligence website?
12. Forthcoming Statistical Releases
    

1. University Admissions

The proportion of Somerset’s 18 year-old population entering higher education remains below the national average according to 2016 admissions figures released by UCAS: www.ucas.com/corporate/data-and-analysis/ucas-undergraduate-releases/he-entry-rates

The statistics, published at parliamentary constituency level, indicate that the Taunton Deane constituency had the highest entry rate in Somerset (30.6% of the 18-year-old population). This was followed by the Wells constituency (29.3%), Somerton and Frome (28.9%), Bridgwater and West Somerset (22%), and Yeovil (21%).

With the exception of Yeovil, proportions of 18-year olds entering higher education increased in all Somerset constituencies when compared to the previous year.

2. Jobs Density estimates

There are estimated to be the equivalent of 0.84 jobs for every Somerset resident aged 16-64 according to latest annual (2015) figures from the Office for National Statistics. This represents a marginal increase on the 0.83 jobs per working-age resident a year earlier.

Within Somerset, West Somerset district has the highest jobs density (0.94), followed by Taunton Deane (0.93), South Somerset (0.86), Mendip (0.85) and Sedgemoor (0.71).

A jobs density of 1.0 means that there is one job for every resident aged 16-64. Within the South West, only Exeter, Cheltenham, West Dorset, North Devon, Cotswold and the Isles of Scilly have a jobs density figure of 1.0 or greater.

See: www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/993.aspx

3. Council Tax base: Dwelling numbers

There are a total of 252,200 dwellings in Somerset according to annual council tax base figures (as at September 2016) published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG): www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-taxbase-2016-in-england

The figures reveal:

• A total of 80,381 dwellings in Somerset were entitled to a council tax discount as a result of being occupied by single adults. This represented 32% of all dwellings.
• There were 5,545 empty dwellings in September, and of these 585 were being charged a premium because the dwelling had been empty for two years of more.
• There were 3,112 dwellings recorded as second homes, a third of which were located in West Somerset. Approximately 6% of dwellings in West Somerset are second homes, compared to 1% in all other Somerset districts.

4. Rough Sleeping estimates

The number of people sleeping rough in Somerset has declined according to figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2016

Local authorities in Somerset estimated the number of rough sleepers in 2016 (as of autumn that year) to be 48. This compares to 56 in 2015 and 50 in 2014. The highest numbers of rough sleepers in 2016 were in Taunton Deane (20) and Mendip (16) districts.

Of the estimated 48 rough sleepers in 2016; four were female, one was aged under 25, and two were non-UK rough sleepers from EU countries.

Nationally, the overall number of rough sleepers continues to increase (up 16% between 2015 and 2016).

5. Teenage Pregnancy Ward maps

Public Health England (PHE) has updated its ward-level teenage pregnancy maps with 2012-2014 data. Numbers of pregnancies and rates are not published but the maps show whether conception rates in a ward are significantly different from the England or local authority rate. See: http://atlas.chimat.org.uk/IAS/dataviews/report?reportId=510&viewId=498&geoReportId=4643&geoId=99&geoSubsetId

The maps indicate that there are ten Somerset wards for which the teenage pregnancy rate is significantly higher than the national average; with three wards in Bridgwater, two in Yeovil, and one each in Taunton, Frome, Street, and Wincanton.

6. Active People Survey results

Adult participation in sport and active recreation has increased in Somerset according to latest results from Sport England’s annual Active People Survey (APS): www.sportengland.org/research/who-plays-sport/local-picture/

An estimated 25.4% of adults in the county regularly participate in sport or active recreation (equivalent to 30 minutes on 3 or more days a week) according to the 2015/16 survey, up from 24.6% the previous year.

District level data - aggregated over two years due to relatively small sample sizes - indicates that participation is highest in South Somerset and Sedgemoor (at 26.0%), followed by Taunton Deane (24.8%), Sedgemoor (23.9%) and West Somerset (19.9%).

The results continue to highlight wide socio-economic variations in participation rates, with 25.0% of adults in NS-SEC (National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification) groups 1 or 2 (professional and managerial occupations) regularly participating, compared to 16.9% in the lowest NS-SEC groups, 5 to 8.

7. A&E Attendances statistics

There were a total of 108,625 A&E attendances at hospitals in Taunton and Yeovil during 2015/16, according to latest annual figures published by NHS Digital. A&E attendances in Taunton were up 6% compared previous year, while attendances at Yeovil District Hospital declined marginally.

Overall, the largest increases in A&E attendances in Somerset were seen in the 90 and over age group (up 10%) and in the 0 to 9 age group (up 7%). The 20 to 29 age group continues to have the highest number of attendances of any age group.

See: www.content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB23070

8. Small Area Domestic Electricity and Gas estimates 

Latest estimates from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy demonstrate wide variations in household energy consumption. The estimates are available for every LSOA (Lower-layer Super Output Area) and are aimed at supporting local energy efficiency and carbon reduction schemes.

Areas with the highest average electricity usage are predominantly rural. In 2015, overall mean domestic electricity consumption was 49% higher in Somerset’s villages and hamlets than in urban areas (5,536kWh per electricity meter compared to 3,725kWh per meter). Similarly, mean domestic gas consumption was around 41% higher in rural villages and hamlets than in urban areas of Somerset (14,844kWh per meter compared to 10,542kWh per meter).

For the full datasets, see: www.gov.uk/government/collections/sub-national-electricity-consumption-data

9. Household Solar Energy statistics

Approximately 1 in 20 households in Somerset now have photovoltaic (solar energy) installations according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. The Feed-in-Tariff scheme (FITs) pays households a tariff for the electricity they generate: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics

As at December 2016, there were 12,132 domestic photovoltaic (solar energy) installations in Somerset, an increase of around 800 on the figure a year earlier. At a district level, West Somerset has the highest rate of installations (600 per 10,000 households) and South Somerset the lowest (481 per 10,000). The South West region has by far the highest rate of installations of any region in England, linked to its favourable climate.

10. Use of Government Data survey

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published an online survey which aims to gather information on people’s use of government data (as published the ONS or other government department’s websites) and to understand any difficulties that users face in finding or extracting it. The short survey is available at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/N6VM3NP

11. What’s New on the Somerset Intelligence website?

The following content has been updated in the last month:

• Excess Winter Deaths: somersetintelligence.org.uk/ewm.html
• Destinations of Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 pupils: somersetintelligence.org.uk/eet-neet.html
• Railway station usage: somersetintelligence.org.uk/rail.html
• Traveller caravan count: somersetintelligence.org.uk/gypsy-travellers.html
• Blue badges: somersetintelligence.org.uk/transport-older-people/

12. Forthcoming Statistical Releases

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

• Cold Weather Payment statistics: 2016 to 2017 (ONS)
• Travel time measures for local ‘A’ roads, England: January 2016 to December 2016 (DfT)
• Location of UK regular service and civilian personnel quarterly statistics: 1 January 2017 (MoD)
• Administrative Data Census Research Outputs: Household estimates using addresses from administrative data, 2011 and 2015 (ONS)
• Child Benefit small area statistics - August 2016 (HMRC)

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