SINePost newsletter - January 2022

In this issue:

1. Waste collection statistics
2. Smoking prevalence estimates
3. Universal Credit claimants
4. Local Alcohol Profiles updates
5. Electricity usage estimates
6. Green Home Grants Local Authority Delivery update
7. Rail station usage

1. Waste collection statistics

Somerset Waste Partnership collected a total of 261,230 tonnes of household waste in the 2020/21 financial year, a 2% increase from the previous year.

Approximately 52% of all waste collected from households was either recycled, composted, or reused, down marginally from 53% in 2019/20. This is higher than the figure for the whole of England, where 42% of all waste was recycled, composted, or reused.

Per person, Somerset residents produced an average of 461.1kg of household waste in 2020/21. The average per person figure for England over the same period was 420.6kg, putting Somerset residents significantly above the average.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/env18-local-authority-collected-waste-annual-results-tables

2. Smoking prevalence statistics

Newly released figures from Public Health England show that an estimated 10.8% of adults in Somerset were smokers in 2020. This puts Somerset below the national average of 12.1% and in line with the South West regional figure. The smoking prevalence figure for those who work in routine and manual occupations is much higher, at 20.9%.

The figures are taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS). APS was formerly conducted via face-to-face interview but is now conducted by telephone. This change in methodology means that the current figure should not be compared to previous years’ data.

Public Health England’s Local Tobacco Control Profiles can be explored here: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/tobacco-control/

3. Universal Credit claimants

Latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the number of Universal Credit claimants in Somerset fell for the ninth consecutive month in November 2021. There was a total of 10,440 claimants in November, marginally lower than the October figure.

The latest figure remains significantly higher that the pre pandemic figure of 7,370 in March 2020 but lower than the peak figure of 16,935 in August 2020.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports//

4. Local Alcohol Profiles update

Public Health England has updated its Local Alcohol Profiles for England (LAPE) with new data for the period 2017 – 2019, covering alcohol-specific mortality, and mortality from chronic liver disease.

Alcohol-specific mortality rates in Somerset are better than the national average. The figures are expressed as rates per 100,000 persons and are adjusted to factor in the age of the local population. The figure for Somerset is 10.1 deaths per 100,000 persons, compared to a national benchmark figure of 10.9 per 100,000. Rates of alcohol-specific mortality amongst males are more than twice that of females, both locally and nationally, with a figure of 13.9 per 100,000 for males in Somerset compared to 6.6 per 100,000 for females.

Rates of mortality from chronic liver disease are also lower in Somerset than the national average, with 10.4 deaths per 100,000 persons. Again, the figure for males is more than twice that of females.

The interactive tool can be accessed here: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles/

5. Electricity usage estimates

Total electricity usage in Somerset was 3% lower in 2020 than in 2019. This is according to newly released estimates from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. 2020 was an exceptional year for energy usage, with domestic usage significantly higher, and non-domestic usage lower than previous years. This is likely related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.

Domestic electricity usage in Somerset was 6% higher in 2020 than in the previous year, and was estimated at a total of 1,096.4 gigawatt hours (GWh). 1 GWh is equal to 1 million kilowatt hours (KWh). The latest annual increase in domestic electricity usage follows six consecutive years of falling usage and represents the highest figure since 2012. Previously, 2019 had seen the lowest total domestic electricity usage estimate since the time series began in 2005.

Whilst domestic usage was up, 2020 also saw non-domestic electricity usage fall by nearly 10%. This is the third consecutive annual decrease, but is a much greater change compared to previous years which saw smaller than 2% decreases.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/regional-and-local-authority-electricity-consumption-statistics

6. Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery update

91 households in Somerset have signed up to Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme to support the installation of energy efficiency measures in domestic properties. This is according to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s latest data release to monitor the installations.

A total of 64 measures have been installed under the LAD scheme in 61 households across Somerset. The LAD scheme aims to raise the energy efficiency of low income and low energy performance homes with a focus on energy performance certificate (EPC) ratings of E, F or G.

For the latest data release, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-home-grant-statistics

7. Railway station usage

Passenger numbers in Somerset’s railway stations were 75% lower in 2020/21 than 2019/20, according to estimates from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR).

Overall, there were 829,774 entries and exits from Somerset stations in 2020/21. Taunton remained the most used station in Somerset, with 364,244 entries and exits. Castle Cary was the station which saw the biggest decrease in usage, falling by 82%, whilst Highbridge and Burnham was the least effected despite seeing a 62% drop in passenger numbers.

ORR provide an interactive tool which can be accessed along with the data tables, here: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage

And finally...