SINePost newsletter - January 2023

In this issue:

1. Rail station usage
2. Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery update
3. Universal Credit Claimants
4. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings results
5. Personal wellbeing estimates
6. Census 2021: Topic summaries
7. Electricity usage estimates
8. Smoking prevalence estimates

1. Railway station usage

Passenger numbers in Somerset’s railway stations were over 3-times higher in 2021/22 than 2020/21, according to estimates from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). 2020/21 was a year heavily impacted by COVID-19, during which rail passenger numbers decreased by 75% from the previous year. The latest figures show a recovery from the lows of the previous year, although total passenger numbers remain 20% lower than the pre-pandemic figure from 2019/20.

Overall, there were 2,627,116 entries and exits from Somerset stations in 2021/22. Taunton remained the most used station in Somerset, with 1,196,802 entries and exits. Castle Cary was the station which saw the biggest annual increase in usage, rising by 374%, having been the station which saw the biggest decline in passenger numbers in 2020/21.

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

2. Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery update

1,533 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 539 measures have been installed under the LAD scheme in 447 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

3. Universal Credit Claimants

The number of individuals receiving jobseekers support through Universal Credit (UC) in Somerset has been broadly stable over the past five months, according to latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The figure for November 2022 was 7,930, higher than the October figure of 7,690.

The latest figure remains slightly higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 7,370 in March 2020 but is now much lower than the peak figure of 16,935 in August 2020.

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

4. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings results

Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees living in Somerset increased by 7.5% to £609 in 2022 in provisional estimates from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Average earnings for full-time employees living in Somerset remain below both the South West regional figure (£619) and the Great Britain figure (£642).

The equivalent earnings figure for people working in Somerset (based on ‘place of work’ rather than ‘place of residence’) was lower, at £594, suggesting a leakage of Somerset workers to higher value jobs outside the county.

For Somerset residents, the distribution of earnings in 2022 saw the bottom 10% of full-time employees earn less than £383 per week. This figure has increased by 2% from the previous year, suggesting that earnings for the lowest earners in Somerset have increased at a slower rate than for higher earners. At the other end of the distribution, the top 10% of full-time employees in Somerset earn more than £1,010 each week. This figure has increase by more than 5% since 2021.

To explore the data, see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/

5.  Personal wellbeing estimates

Average levels of life satisfaction and happiness in Somerset have increased, and levels of anxiety decreased in latest annual figures from the Measuring National Well-being programme (covering the period April 2021 to March 2022). Conversely, feelings that life is worthwhile have decreased.

Average ratings for Somerset in 2021/22 were 7.65 out of 10 for life satisfaction; 7.79 out of 10 for feeling that life is worthwhile; 7.59 out of 10 for happiness; and 3.00 out of 10 for anxiety.

Levels of anxiety among Somerset residents have decreased from a high point recorded in 2020/21, but remain marginally higher than in 2019/20 (before the COVID-19 pandemic).

Somerset was better than the national average in respect of all four indicators of subjective well-being. At a district level, Somerset West & Taunton reported the highest wellbeing by all measures, with South Somerset reporting the worst for each measure.

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

6. Census 2021 topic summaries

The Office for National Statistics have been publishing results from the 2021 Census at regular intervals, providing more detail about the nature of the Somerset population at the time. Recent insights include:

Legal partnerships

31% of adults in Somerset have never married and never registered a civil partnership; an increase from 27.8% in 2011.

Living arrangements

Nearly 70,000 Somerset residents are living as a co-habiting couple without having married, an increase of 17,000 in the past 10 years.

Household composition

There are now over 71,000 households in Somerset with all residents aged 66 or older, representing nearly 30% of all households.

Country of birth

8.5% of Somerset residents on census day in 2021 were born outside of the UK, an increase from 5.9% in 2011.

Religion

41.5% of Somerset residents report having no religion, compared to 26.6% in 2011.

Languages

Polish is the most common main language other than English in Somerset, with nearly 7,000 residents speaking Polish as their first language. Over 99% of the Somerset population can speak English.

Ethnic groups

Over 96% of Somerset residents are from a white ethnic group.

Topic summaries for Somerset can be viewed at the below links, with more in-depth data and analysis to be published over the coming weeks and months.

Household composition, country of birth & military veterans

Ethnic group, language, and religion

Labour market and travel to work

7. Electricity usage estimates

Total electricity usage in Somerset was 0.5% lower in 2021 than in 2020. This is according to newly released estimates from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. 2021 was a more normal year for electricity usage in Somerset, following an exceptional year in 2020 which saw significantly higher levels of domestic usage and lower levels of non-domestic usage compared to previous years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Domestic electricity usage in Somerset was nearly 7% lower in 2021 than in 2020, and was estimated at a total of 1,024.2 gigawatt hours (GWh). 1 GWh is equal to 1 million kilowatt hours (KWh). The 2021 figure is also lower than the pre-pandemic figure from 2019 and suggests a continuation of the long-term trend of falling domestic electricity usage which had seen six consecutive annual drops before the interruption of 2020. The latest figure is the lowest total domestic electricity usage estimate since the time series began in 2005.

Non-domestic electricity usage increased by nearly 5% in 2021 following a large fall of nearly 10% in 2020. Although the 2021 figure represents an annual increase, it is 5% lower than the pre-pandemic figure from 2019, suggesting a continuation of the long term trend of falling non-domestic electricity usage.

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

8. Smoking prevalence estimates

An estimated 14.6% of adults in Somerset were smokers in 2021, according to newly released figures from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID). The figures are taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS). This latest prevalence estimate for Somerset puts it above both the national average of 13.0% and the South West regional figure of 12.6%.

National estimates have shown ten consecutive years of falling smoking prevalence rates, however figures for Somerset have been more varied over this period, with the 2021 estimate representing the highest prevalence rate since 2018.

The smoking prevalence figure for those who work in routine and manual occupations is much higher, at 23.8%.

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

And finally...