SINePost newsletter - September 2016

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In this issue ...

1. Housebuilding statistics
2. Council Tax band statistics for small areas
3. Parents' Country of Birth data
4. Children in Out-of-work Benefit Claimant households
5. Non-UK national benefit claimants
6. Progression to Higher Education by Free School Meal status
7. Internet Access Survey
8. Fire Statistics
9. NHS Stop Smoking Service statistics
10. What's New on the Somerset Intelligence website?
11. Forthcoming Statistical Releases

1. Housebuilding statistics

A total of 2,250 new dwellings were completed in Somerset during 2014/15 according to figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). This represents a second successive annual increase and the highest yearly figure for at least a decade.

Of the new homes built in 2014/15, approximately 85% were built through private enterprise, with 15% through housing associations.

At a district level, Taunton Deane saw the biggest growth (830 new dwellings), followed by South Somerset (510).

For further details, see: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building (Table 253).

2. Council Tax band statistics for small areas

After a gap of several years, neighbourhood level Council Tax Band data is now being published by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The information, available at LSOA and MSOA level, also includes the time period in which dwellings were built: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2016

According to the figures, the Bridgwater Sydenham Central area has the highest proportion of Band A dwellings of any Somerset LSOA (accounting for 90% of all dwellings), while the Roman Road area of Taunton has the highest proportion of Band B properties. An area of Sedgemoor to the south of Wedmore has the highest ratio of higher band E to H dwellings (accounting for 70% of all dwellings).

The Eastover North (Bristol Road) area of Bridgwater has the highest proportion of older properties in the county, with 65% of dwellings having being built before 1900.

3. Parents’ Country of Birth data

One in seven births in Somerset are now to mothers born outside the UK according latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Nationally, the proportion is one in four.

Of the 780 Somerset babies born to non-UK mothers during 2015, a total of 565 where to mothers born in Europe (of which 388 were ‘new EU’ countries); 118 were to mothers from the Middle East and Asia; 48 from Africa; and 49 from the rest of the world.

At a district level, Sedgemoor replaced Taunton Deane in 2015 as having the highest proportion of births to non-UK born mothers (at 16%). West Somerset continues to have the lowest proportion (11%).

See: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths

4. Children in Out-of-work Benefit Claimant households

Overall numbers of children living in out-of-work benefit households in Somerset continue to fall according to the latest annual snapshot from the Department for Work and Pensions: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-out-of-work-benefit-households-31-may-2015

As at 31 May 2015 there were 12,540 Somerset children (aged 0-18) living in out-of-work benefit households, a decrease of 920 children on the previous year. There were a total of 6,740 households claiming at least one out-of-work benefit, a decrease of 500 households on the previous year. These falls mirror trends seen nationally.

At a local (ward) level, the largest falls in numbers of children in out-of-work benefit households were in Bridgwater Sydenham and Yeovil East. Meanwhile, small increases were seen in Wellington North and in Langport and Huish. The figures are based on ‘old’ (pre-2013) electoral ward boundaries.

5. Non-UK national benefit claimants

The Department for Work and Pensions has published estimates for numbers of current benefit claimants who were non-UK nationals when they first entered the labour market (that is, first registered for a National Insurance Number, NINo): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/nationality-at-point-of-nino-registration-of-dwp-working-age-benefit-recipients-data-to-feb-2016

In February 2016, an estimated 830 working-age benefit claimants in Somerset were non-UK nationals (at time of registration), of which 166 were claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) and 377 were claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or incapacity benefits.

By way of context, in February 2016, official figures indicate a total of 2,796 JSA claimants in Somerset.

6. Progression to Higher Education by Free School Meal status

An estimated 12% of state-funded Somerset school pupils who received Free School Meals (FSM) at age 15 (in 2009/10) entered Higher Education by age 19 (in the 2013/14 academic year), according to latest figures from the Department for Education. This compares to 31% for non-FSM pupils.

Somerset’s inequality ‘gap’ of 19 percentage points is broadly in line with the England average, although nationally a higher proportion of both FSM and non-FSM pupils progress to higher education (22% and 39% respectively for 2013/14).

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/widening-participation-in-higher-education-2016

7. Internet Access Survey

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest assessment of household internet access and use, based on interviews with around 3,000 households nationally: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/householdcharacteristics

Findings include:

• In 2016, 70% of adults accessed the internet ‘on the go’ using a mobile phone or smartphone, up from 66% in 2015 and nearly double the 2011 estimate of 36%.
• 39% of adults used the internet to obtain information from public authorities/services websites in 2016, up from 33% in the previous year.
• The most common reason for households not having internet access continues to be ‘don’t need it’ (59%), followed by lack of skills (21%) and cost (9%).

8. Fire Statistics

In 2015/16, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) attended 3,994 fires in Devon and Somerset according to provisional figures published by the DCLG. Numbers of fires continue to decline and are now at less than half the level they were in 2006/07.

There were 909 accidental dwelling fires recorded by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service during 2015/16, 10 fewer than in the previous year.

Numbers of deliberate fires attended by the fire and rescue service have halved in the last seven years, to a total of 1,235 in 2014/15.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables

9. NHS Stop Smoking Service statistics

A total of 1,240 people in Somerset successfully quit smoking in 2015/16 through the NHS Stop Smoking Service, according to statistics released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. This was from a total of 2,546 clients who set a ‘quit date’, giving a quit success rate of 49%. Successful quitters are those who, when assessed 4 weeks after their designated quit date, declare they have not smoked in the past two weeks.

In Somerset, the quitting success rate was highest amongst people in managerial and professional occupations (with 61% successfully quitting), followed by retired people (55%). The people least likely to successfully quit were full-time students (with a 36% success rate).

See: http://www.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB21162

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

The following information has been updated in the last month:

• Fuel Poverty Dashboard: http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/fuel-poverty-dashboard.html
• Environment: somersetintelligence.org.uk/environment/
• Dementia: http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/dementia.html
• Diabetes: http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/diabetes.html
• Household Estimates and Projections: http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/household-estimates-and-projections.html

11. Forthcoming Statistical Releases

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

• Health Profiles 2016 (Public Health England)
• Civil Partnerships in England and Wales: 2015 (ONS)
• Travel to Work area analysis (ONS)
• House price statistics for small areas: year ending Dec 1995 to year ending Mar 2016 (ONS)
• Looked-after children in England, year ending 31 March 2016 (DfE)
• Local authority green belt statistics for England: 2015 to 2016 (DCLG)

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