SINePost newsletter - September 2021

In this issue:

1. Armed Forces Veterans statistics
2. School pupil characteristics
3. Conception statistics
4. Universal Credit claimants
5. Marriage statistics
6. Fire statistics
7. Migrant worker statistics
8. Deaths from COVID-19 at neighbourhood level

1. Armed Forces Veterans statistics

As of 31 March 2021, there were 7,522 Somerset residents in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS), an ongoing war pension under the War Pensions Scheme (WPS) and /or compensation under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS), according to figures from the Ministry of Defence. Of these, 6,996 were veterans.

South Somerset is the district with the highest number of veterans (3,354), followed by Somerset West & Taunton (1,862), Sedgemoor (1,052), and Mendip (1,028).

Numbers of armed forces pension/compensation recipients in the county has been increasing slightly year on year, with a 0.25% increase since the 2020 figure.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-armed-forces-pension-and-compensation-recipients-2021

2. School Pupil Characteristics

There are a total of 79,287 school pupils in Somerset attending state-funded and independent schools, according to latest figures from the Department for Education.

The figures indicate that 9.9% of pupils (7,844 pupils) attend an independent school, representing the second highest rate in the South West region (behind only Bath and North East Somerset).

18.5% of state-funded primary school pupils and 16.3% of secondary school pupils in Somerset are eligible for Free School Meals. These figures have increased over the past five years, from 10.6% and 9.6% respectively in 2015/16. The percentages of FSM eligible students in Somerset are slightly higher than the regional figures for the South West but are below the national figures for England.

To explore the data, see: https.www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2021

3. Conception statistics

The number of conceptions to women aged under 18 in Somerset remained unchanged in 2019 following 11 years of successive decline. This is according to newly published figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which show that national rates have decreased in 2019. Despite remaining unchanged over the latest year, the rate of conceptions to women aged under 18 in Somerset is lower than the rate for the South West region and the rate for England & Wales.

There were a total of 110 conceptions to women aged under 18 in Somerset, representing a rate of 12.4 per 1,000 women in the age group. Within Somerset, rates were highest in Sedgemoor – at 13.5 per 1,000 – followed by South Somerset (13.3 per 1,000), Somerset West & Taunton (12.4 per 1,000), and Mendip (10.1 per 1,000).

The overall conception rate in Somerset decreased in 2019 for the fourth successive year, to a rate of 72.5 per 1,000 women – a total of 6,227 conceptions. This rate is above that of the South West region (67.8 per 1,000), but below the figure for England & Wales (73.8 per 1,000).

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

4. Universal Credit claimants

The number of Universal Credit claimants continues to fall month-on-month, with a total of 12,440 claimants in the latest figures released for July 2021. This represents a claimant rate of 3.9%. This is more than 25% lower than the peak of 16,935 claimants seen during August 2020, but remains near to double the pre-pandemic figure of 7,370 seen in March 2020.

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

5. Marriage statistics

The number of marriages between opposite-sex couples in Somerset decreased in 2018 to a total of 2,860, according to latest annual figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This figure is the lowest since 2003, and represents a 7% decrease from the 2017 figure.

Approximately 29% of weddings in Somerset in 2018 were religious ceremonies, with 71% being civil ceremonies. The proportion of Somerset weddings which are religious ceremonies has decreased over time, with a figure of 31% in the previous year (2017), and 36% five years earlier (2013).

The ONS do not currently publish marriage statistics for same-sex couples at local authority level, however latest national figures show that approximately 3% of all marriages are between same-sex couples.

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

6. Fire statistics

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) attended 3,761 fire incidents in 2020/21, according to latest figures from the Home Office. This is the lowest figure on record as figures have been steadily decreasing year-on-year. The number of dwelling fires was also the lowest on record, with 868.

DSFR also attended 5,871 fire false alarms and 5,003 non-fire incidents, giving a total of 14,635 incidents for the year.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables

7. Migrant worker statistics

The number of non-UK nationals registering for a National Insurance number (NINo) in Somerset each quarter has increased over the past year but remains significantly lower than the pre-pandemic figure.

There have been 392 NINo applications to non-UK nationals in Somerset in the latest quarter, according to latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This figure is more than double the lowest figure of 131 seen in the quarter ending September 2020 but is much lower than the pre-pandemic figure of 670 for the quarter ending March 2020.

The annual figure of 863 for 2020/21 was 73% lower than the figure for the previous year (3,228). NINo applications to non-UK nationals in Somerset peaked in 2015/16 with 3,591 applications over the course of the year.

To explore the data, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-insurance-number-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk

8. Deaths from COVID-19 at neighbourhood level

Dunster, Dulverton & Exmoor was one of only 14 neighbourhoods in England and Wales – out of a total 7,201 – which didn’t record a single death with COVID-19 as the main cause between March 2020 and April 2021. This is according to a newly published report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) into excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic at neighbourhood (Middle-layer Super Output Area) level.

Oakhill, Horrington & Chewton Mendip was the Somerset neighbourhood with the most deaths from COVID-19 with a total of 41, followed by Wellington South, Rockwell Green & West Buckland and Dowslands & Blackdown both having seen 39 deaths.

Of 71 neighbourhoods (MSOAs) in Somerset, 54 saw an above average number of deaths between March 2020 and April 2021, whilst 16 neighbourhoods recorded fewer deaths than the 5-year average. In total there were 686 excess deaths in Somerset over the period.

To view the report and underlying data, see: https://www.ons.gov.uk/articles/excessdeathsinyourneighbourhoodduringthecoronaviruscovid19pandemic/

And finally...