SINePost newsletter - March 2013

The Partnership Intelligence Unit (PIU) has produced a briefing note on the self-reported health and disability of Somerset residents, based on the results of the 2011 Census. Some key findings are:

 Just under 100,000 people in Somerset (18.8% of the population) said they had a long-term condition or disability which limited their day-to-day activities a lot or a little.

• 13,317 working-age residents (3.5% of those aged 16-74) described themselves as economically inactive because of long-term sickness or disability. Proportions were high in parts of Highbridge, Taunton and central Glastonbury.
• There were nearly 9,000 households in Somerset containing at least one adult with a long-term disability or health condition and dependent children. Bridgwater’s Sydenham and Hamp areas contain notable concentrations of such households.

 The briefing note is published at the following link: www.sine.org.uk/census2011/

 Briefing notes on Ethnicity and Religion in Somerset are available at the same link - these have now been expanded following the release of the small area Census data at the end of January.

2.  Beyond 2011: Future of the Census

The Beyond 2011 Programme was set up by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2011 to consider possible approaches to meeting the future need for population and small area socio-demographic statistics. In an era of ever-decreasing budgets, another full Census in 2021 is perhaps unlikely on account of cost.

 The Beyond 2011 team has conducted extensive consultation and research, and is now focussing on a shortlist of six potential options, from a full Census to smaller-scale surveys of varying sizes supplementing data linking existing administrative sources.

 Further details, including the latest Beyond 2011 Newsletter, are available at: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/what-we-do/programmes---projects/beyond-2011/news/reports-and-publications/index.html

 3.  Latest Employment & Skills Board dashboard

The latest Somerset Employment & Skills Board (ESB) dashboard, produced by the Economy Group at Somerset County Council, provides 20 key indicators relating to education, employment and skills in Somerset. Some headlines from the latest data update are:

• Employment in full-time positions, and in the private sector, is lower than 12 months ago. 
• The number of job vacancies was higher in November 2012 than the previous November but a smaller proportion were full-time.
• The percentage of young people leaving school with 5 good GCSE passes in maths and English fell marginally between 2011 and 2012. 
• The number of apprenticeships has increased year-on-year. 
• Job-relating training and prevalence of degree-level (or above) qualifications have fallen.

Download the dashboard from the SINe website, at: www.sine.org.uk/economy-jobs/somerset-esb-dashboard/

 4.  Local Tobacco Control Profiles 2013

The latest Local Tobacco Control Profiles, published by the Public Health Observatories in England, provide a snapshot of the extent of tobacco use and tobacco related harm at local authority level: www.tobaccoprofiles.info/

 Somerset performs better or is similar to the national average in respect of most of the indicators but is worse than the England average in terms of smoking during pregnancy (at time of delivery).

 At a district level, Sedgemoor is notable for a high rate of hospital admissions attributable to smoking.

 5.  Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Profiles 2011/12

Cardiovascular Disease profiles, produced by the South East Public Health Observatory, are available for every (upper-tier) local authority in England and allow direct comparison against a number of indicators, including: prevention, incident, mortality and treatments. Key messages from the Somerset profile are:

• Early mortality (under 75 years) rates from cardiovascular disease are significantly lower than the national rate, and have decreased by 64.0% since 1995.
• Emergency admission rates for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke are significantly lower than the national rate.

 See the full Somerset profile at: www.sepho.org.uk/NationalCVD/docs/40_CVD%20Profile.pdf

 6.  Public Health Outcomes Framework – Statistical Update

The Department for Health has published an official statistics update to the Public Health Outcomes Framework data tool. Baseline data for a number of indicators were released in November 2012, while the February 2013 update includes the addition of baselines for three further indicators and updated information for six indicators: www.phoutcomes.info/

 7.  Internet User and Non-User estimates

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published latest estimates of internet users and non-users, by age, sex, disability, region and gross weekly pay (as of Q4, 2012): www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-294263

 The estimates suggest that 86.0% of Somerset residents aged 16 or over have ever used the internet, up from 82.9% a year earlier. The latest figure puts Somerset slightly above South West (85.6%) and national (85.1%) averages.

Key non-internet users are older people aged 65 or over (nationally, around 40% have never used the internet) and people with disabilities (around 1 in 3 have never used the internet).

  8.  Statistical Digest of Rural England 2013

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published its annual statistical digest, covering a range of social and economic issues, e.g., health, housing, crime, accessibility and investment. The statistics are presented at national level and split by rural and urban area classifications. It is acknowledged that there are likely to be considerable variations between individual rural towns and villages.

 www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13822-stat-digest-rural-201302.pdf

 9.  Electoral Roll Statistics 2012

The ONS has published latest annual data on the number of electors registered to vote in the UK (as of 16 October 2012): www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/electoral-statistics-for-uk/index.html

There were a total of 422,203 electors in Somerset in 2012, an increase of 0.8% on the previous year. South Somerset saw the biggest percentage increase in electors (up 1.5%), while the number of registered electors in Sedgemoor fell very slightly.

 10.  Forthcoming Statistical Releases

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

• Local Authority Child Health Profiles 2013 (ChiMat)
• Projections of Households in England - 2011-based Interim Projections (ONS)
• Family Size – 2012 (ONS)
• School Capacity - 2011/2012 (DfE)
• Pupil Absence in Schools in England - including Pupil Characteristics: 2011/12 (DfE)

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Please email TXAtkins@somerset.gov.uk