SINePost newsletter - November 2023

In this issue:

1. Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle statistics
2. Military Personnel statistics
3. Armed Forces Veterans statistics
4. Hate crime statistics
5. Business activity, size, and location data
6. Road accident statistics
7. Child obesity statistics
8. Destinations of school and college leavers
9. Council Tax: stock of properties count

1. Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle statistics

Overall numbers of licensed taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) in Somerset have declined in latest annual statistics from the Department for Transport.

As of 31 March 2023, there were 508 taxis and 322 private hire vehicles in Somerset. Compared to the same point last year, numbers of taxis declined by nearly 4%, while numbers of private hire vehicles are up by around 14%.

Compared to five years ago, numbers of taxis have declined by 22%, while numbers of PHVs have decreased by 11.5%. The number of wheelchair accessible taxis in Somerset has dropped by 27% over this period, from 249 in 2018, to 181 in 2023.

Approximately 36% of taxis and 7% of private hire vehicles in Somerset are wheelchair accessible. Nationally, 55% of all taxis and 2% of PHVs are wheelchair accessible.

For the full dataset, see: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-statistics-england-2023

2. Military Personnel statistics

The number of Regular Forces personnel based in Somerset has seen a small decrease, to 3,110, in the latest count published by the Ministry of Defence (as of 1st April 2023). This is lowest figure since April 2016.

Numbers of MOD civilian personnel in Somerset have seen a slight increase. On 1st April 2023, there were 1,500 civilian personnel located in the county, based on Full Time Equivalents (FTEs). This is the highest number of civilian personnel since April 2015.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-statistics-for-uk-regular-armed-forces-and-civilians-2023

3. Armed Forces Veterans statistics

As of 31 March 2023, there were 7,856 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, 7,265 were veterans.

South Somerset is the former district area with the highest number of veterans (3,488), followed by Somerset West & Taunton (1,698), Sedgemoor (1,080), and Mendip (999).

Numbers of armed forces pension/compensation recipients in the county has been increasing slightly year on year, with a 1.9% increase since the 2022 figure.

For the full dataset, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-of-armed-forces-pension-and-compensation-recipients-2023

4.  Hate crime statistics

There were 3,857 hate crime offences recorded in the Avon and Somerset police force area during 2022/23 according to figures from the Home Office, a decrease of 6% on the 4,117 hate crimes recorded in 2021/22. For England and Wales as a whole, recorded hate crime increased by 7% over the same period. The Avon and Somerset figure for 2022/23 represents an increase of 23% over the 5 years since 2017/18.

Nationally, increases in police recorded hate crime in recent years have been driven by improvements in recording and better identification of what constitutes a hate crime.

Most hate crime in Avon and Somerset in 2022/23 was motivated by race (72%), with sexual orientation (16.5%) the next most common motivating factor, followed by disability (9%), religion (4%) and gender identity (3%). Nationally, 70% of hate crime was motivated by race.

When comparing to the previous year, hate crimes motivated by gender identity were the only hate crime group in Avon and Somerset which saw an increase, with 119 offences recorded in 2022/23 compared to 102 in the previous year.

For the full dataset, see: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2022-to-2023

5. Business activity, size and location data

There are 25,190 business enterprises in Somerset as of March 2023, according to latest figures from an annual snapshot from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). This is an increase on the 2022 figure of 24,995.

77% of businesses in Somerset employ fewer than five people, with 89% employing fewer than ten people.

The industry sectors with the most businesses in Somerset are Construction (14.7%) Agriculture, forestry & Fishing (14.1%), and Professional, scientific & technical (12%).

The total number of businesses in Somerset has increased by 4% in the 5 years since 2018. There are now 485 more Construction businesses (+15%), 410 more Transport & Storage businesses (+60%), and 250 more businesses in the Businesses administration & support services sector (+15.5%). On the other hand, numbers of Agriculture, forestry & fishing businesses have decrease by 295 (-8%) and numbers of businesses in the Professional, scientific & technical sector have fallen by 210 (-6.5%) since 2018.

For the full dataset, see: www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/

6. Road accident statistics

Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show there were 739 reported road accidents in Somerset in 2022. This is similar to the previous year’s figure of 735 and remains below the last pre-pandemic figure of 994 in 2019.

Of the 739 accidents in 2020, a total of 20 were fatal, with a further 155 involving a serious injury. A total of 201 people were killed or seriously injured. Of those, 56% were vehicle occupants, 22% were motor cyclists, 12% pedestrians, and 11% pedal cyclists.

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

7. Child obesity statistics

Somerset has seen an increase in child obesity in Reception-age and Year 6 children according to latest annual results from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for 2022/23. Nationally there was a decrease in the prevalence of childhood obesity amongst both age groups since 2021/22.

In summary, for the 2022/23 school year:

• In Reception Year (age 4-5 years), 9.4% of Somerset children measured were obese. This percentage was marginally above the England average of 9.2%, and an increase from the 2021/22 figure of 8.6%.
• In Year 6 (age 10-11 years), 20.6% of Somerset children were obese, below the national average of 22.7%, but marginally higher than the figure of 20.3% for 2021/22.
• In Reception Year, 1.8% of Somerset children were recorded as severely obese; below the national average of 2.5%. In Year 6, 5.0% of Somerset children were severely obese; compared to 5.7% nationally.

Nationally, obesity prevalence for children living in the most deprived areas was more than double that of those living in the least deprived areas. The 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the country had 30.2% prevalence of obesity in year 6 children in 2022/23, compared to 13.1% obesity in the 10% least deprived areas. For reception age children, the figures were 12.4% in the most deprived areas, compared to 5.8% in the least deprived areas.

For the full dataset, see: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-child-measurement-programme/2022-23-school-year

8. Destinations of school and college leavers

The proportion of state-funded mainstream pupils in Somerset going into sustained education, training or employment after Key Stage 4 (GCSE or equivalent) was 93.8% in 2021/22, in annual figures from the Department for Education. This proportion was marginally above the national average of 93.6. These figures are for pupils from state funded mainstream schools who left Key Stage 4 in 2020/21 and follows their destinations in 2021/22.

The proportion of Somerset young people going into sustained education, employment or training the year after Key Stage 5 (A-level or equivalent Level 3 qualification) was 88.9% in 2021/22, in-line with the national average. The proportion of Somerset young people specifically going into an education setting was 48%, compared to 60.8% nationally.

For the full dataset, see: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-key-stage-4-and-5-students-2022

9. Council tax: stock of properties count

At the end of March 2023, there were a total of 267,550 domestic properties in Somerset, according to the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) administrative database. This represented an increase of 2,660 properties from the same point a year earlier.

Across Somerset, 16% of properties are in the lowest Council Tax band (A), with 27% in band B, and 22% in band C. Meanwhile, 9% of properties in Somerset are in the higher Council Tax bands (F, G and H).

The former Sedgemoor district area has the highest proportion of properties in the lowest Council Tax band, with 24% of properties, whilst the former Mendip and Somerset West & Taunton areas have the highest proportion in the higher Council Tax bands (both 10%).

For the full dataset, see: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2023

And finally...