SINePost newsletter - November 2014

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In this issue ...

1. Child Poverty
   
2. Latest Small Area Population estimates
   
3. Sexual Identity estimates
   
4. New Economic Factsheets
   
5. Recorded Crime trends
   
6. Fly-tipping statistics 2013/14
   
7. Children and Young People's Mental Health and Well-being profile
   
8. Liver Disease profile
   
9. 2011 Census Analysis: Coastal Communities
   
10. Proposed update to Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
    
11. What's New on the Somerset Intelligence website?
    
12. Forthcoming Statistical Releases
    

1.  Child Poverty

Statistics on the number and proportion of children living in out-of-work benefit households (known as the Local Child Poverty proxy measure) have been published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for 2013:www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-out-of-work-benefit-households-2012-and-2013-snapshot

As at May 2013, an estimated 13,150 children in Somerset were living in families in receipt of out-of-work benefits, down from 13,570 the previous year. Within Somerset the highest proportion of children in out-of-work benefit households was in Sedgemoor (17.4%) and the lowest proportion in Mendip (11.4%)

The local child poverty proxy measure is one of two indicators of children in low income families (proxying for child poverty) at a local level. The other is HMRC’s ‘Children in Low-income Families Local Measure’, although latest results date from 2011.

2.  Latest Small Area Population estimates

The Office for National Statistics has published latest population estimates for small areas, including electoral wards, output areas (OAs, LSOAs and MSOAs) and National Parks, by age and sex. The estimates are based on the 2011 Census and are updated annually using information from a range of administrative data sources. The latest data relates to mid-2013: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/sape/small-area-population-estimates/mid-2013/index.html

According to the estimates, wards in Somerset range in population size from 1,114 (West Quantock) to 8,821 (Yeovil South). Since the 2011 Census, the biggest population increases have been in North Petherton ward (up 13.0%) and Norton Fitzwarren ward (up 12.7%), linked to major housing developments. Overall, Somerset’s urban population has increased at twice the rate of its rural population.

The population estimates for LSOAs, districts and Somerset are now also available on the INFORM Somerset web site in the People & Neighbourhoods section.  This includes figures for each year from 2002 to 2013 with some broad age ranges.

3.  Sexual Identity estimates

Results from the 2013 Integrated Household Survey (IHS) indicate that 1.6% of adults in the UK identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual (LGB). If this proportion were applied to Somerset’s population it would equate to around 7,100 adults in the county. The IHS is the largest social survey conducted by ONS after the national Census, with approximately 180,000 individual respondents: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/integrated-household-survey/integrated-household-survey/january-to-december-2013/index.html

It is generally accepted that the IHS gives an underestimation of the true size of the lesbian, gay or bisexual population. Several historical surveys, both in the UK and overseas, have variously put the size of the LGB population at between 5% and 7%. For more details, including a summary of available data on LGB populations, see: http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/lgbt/

4.  New Economic Factsheets

Updated factsheets with latest data on employment, economic activity and earnings in Somerset are now available:

• Employment and Economic Activity factsheet: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/employment-and-economic-activity-october-2014/
• Unemployment and Economic Inactivity factsheet: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/unemployment-and-economic-inactivity-october-2014/
• Occupation and Earnings factsheet: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/occupation-and-earnings-october-2014/

Headlines include:

• Somerset’s Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimant rate is steadily declining and is now approaching the low levels seen before the recession began in 2008 (its latest level of 1.1% is the lowest since July 2008).
• Somerset’s unemployment rate has increased over the last year by 0.5 percentage points, to 4.7% (this measure is generally higher than the claimant rate as not all people looking for work are either eligible or choose to claim JSA).
• South Somerset has the lowest economic inactivity rate (17.7%), while Taunton Deane has the highest proportion of inactive residents who want a job (27.9%).

Meanwhile, for the first time, monthly JSA claimant figures are being published for current electoral wards (previous monthly figures have been based on ward boundaries as they were in 2009). In September, claimant rates in Somerset ranged from 5.5% in Bridgwater Westover ward to 0.2% in Chewton Mendip and Ston Easton ward.

5.  Recorded Crime trends

Recorded crime in Somerset declined by 2.4% in the year to June 2014 compared to the previous year, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This equates to 615 fewer crimes over the year. See: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-june-2014/index.html

There were decreases across most of the main categories of recorded crime, most notably domestic burglary (down 14%) and drug offences (down 17%). Conversely, increases were seen in violent offences (up 8%) and sexual offences (up 24%). The latter is seen as due, at least in part, to the ‘Yewtree effect’, whereby victims are becoming more willing and able to report offences.

Meanwhile, the number of hate crimes in the Avon and Somerset police force area increased by 21% in the last year according to figures from the Home Office. There were 1,566 hate crimes in the police force area during 2013/14, three quarters (75%) of which related to race; 11% to sexual orientation; 6% to disability; 5% to religion and 2% to transgender.

6.  Fly-tipping statistics 2013/14

The number of fly-tipping incidents recorded by local authorities in Somerset fell for the second year running in 2013/14 according to figures published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra): www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken-in-england

There were 4,959 incidents of fly-tipping recorded in 2013/14, down from 5,190 the previous year, and 5,687 two years earlier. Around 60% of fly-tips involved household waste, with ‘highways’ the most common location (representing 64% of all incidents). Overall, levels of fly-tipping in Somerset are still well above the levels seen in 2010/11.

At a district level, Mendip continues to have the highest rate of recorded fly-tipping (17 incidents per 1,000 population in 2013/14) and West Somerset the lowest (2 incidents per 1,000 population).

7.  Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Well-being profile

Public Health England has launched a Children and Young People's Mental Health and Well-being profiling tool, collating a wide range of publically available data on risk, prevalence and services that support children with, or vulnerable to, mental illness. See: http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/cyphof/data

According to the tool, Somerset is better or similar to the national benchmark in respect of the majority of the indicators of child mental health and well-being. Exceptions include hospital admissions (due to self-harm, alcohol specific conditions, and substance misuse) and social/behavioural health outcomes for looked after children. Most of the data in the profile tool relates to 2012/13.

8.  Liver Disease profile

Public Health England has now published liver disease profiles for every (upper-tier) local authority in England. See: http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/liver-disease

The profile for Somerset indicates that premature mortality from liver disease between 2010 and 2012 was significantly lower than the England average (for both males and females). However, between 2001-03 and 2010-12, the average number of people per year who died with an underlying cause of liver disease in Somerset increased from 67 to 101, mirroring increases seen nationally. By contrast, liver disease death rates in most EU countries are falling.

9.  2011 Census Analysis: Coastal Communities

The Office for National Statistics has published a national analysis of coastal communities (defined as those having a population of 1,000 or over), using a range of indicators from the last census: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census-analysis/coastal-communities/index.html

Information for 273 coastal towns and villages has been extracted, including four in Somerset - Burnham-on-Sea, Minehead, Porlock and Watchet. The data illustrates how coastal communities vary significantly in their prosperity and characteristics, in Somerset and nationally.

10.  Proposed update to Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is soon to consult on final proposals for updating the English Indices of Deprivation, including the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). The Indices - a key measure of deprivation at a local level - were last updated in 2011. The new released is planned for Summer 2015.

Details of events planned for London and Manchester are available at: www.ocsi.co.uk/news/2014/10/29/indices-of-deprivation-event/

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

The following resources have been updated in the last month:

• LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) statistics: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/lgbt/
• Accessibility indicators: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/accessibility/
• Personal Well-being indicators: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/subjective-wellbeing.html
• Second Addresses profile: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/second-addresses.html
• 2011 Census results by Rural-Urban Classification: www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/census-datasets/

12.  Forthcoming Statistical Releases

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

• Local authority housing statistics for England: 2013 to 2014 (DCLG)
• Annual survey of hours and earnings: 2014 provisional results (ONS)
• Business demography: 2013 (ONS)
• Benefit cap: number of households capped to August 2014 (DWP)
• Excess winter mortality in England and Wales: provisional 2013 to 2014 and final 2012 to 2013 (ONS)
• Public health outcomes framework: November 2014 data update (PHE)
• Local tobacco control profiles for England: November 2014 data update (PHE)
  

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