SINePost

The newsletter of the Somerset Intelligence

  1. Fuel Poverty

Latest data (2011) from the Department of Energy and Climate Change estimates that there are just over 36,000 ‘fuel poor’ households in Somerset, that is, households needing to spend more than 10% of income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth.

While overall numbers of households living in fuel poverty in Somerset is broadly unchanged from 2010, the gap between the most and least fuel poor areas had widened. Fuel poverty is a particular issue in rural areas.

See the Housing section on the Somerset Intelligence website for further details:

  1. Census 2011: Detailed Characteristics

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released the first detailed multivariate statistics (cross tabulations of two or more topics) from the 2011 Census. The release covers: ethnicity, national identity, country of birth, main language, religion, provision of unpaid care, and health. Tables are currently at local authority (district) level only, with Ward and MSOA data to set follow:

Analysis of the data and key messages relating to unpaid carers in Somerset is now available on the Somerset Intelligence website ( The Somerset Intelligence team will also be updatingexisting Census briefings with learning from the new data, focussing around the Equality Act’s protected characteristics.

  1. Census: Making the case for local area data

As part of its Beyond 2011 programme, the ONS has produced a paper examining the potential use of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) database as a source of estimating student population instead of a Census. Its May 2013 newsletter provides an update of the Beyond 2011 project.

Note that there is a real danger that the wealth of attribute data at local level will not be collected in the future unless the business case is accepted by Government, and so far it is not looking good.

See the website for more details, including how to inform the Beyond 2011 team on how you use ward or output area Census data in your work:

  1. Health Impact of Physical Activity (HIPI) tool

A new ‘HIPI’ tool estimates how many cases of certain diseases could be prevented if the population aged 40-79 were to engage in recommended amounts of physical activity. HIPI was developed by the Network of Public Health Observatories (now part of Public Health England):

The tool estimates that 368 deaths in Somerset would be prevented each year if all residents aged 40-79 engaged in recommended levels of activity. Somerset could see 109 fewer emergency admissions for coronary heart disease, 83 fewer new cases of breast cancer and 60 fewer new cases of colon cancer. An estimated 3,132 cases of diabetes would also be prevented each year.

  1. Childhood Obesity and Deprivation

A trend analysis report by Public Health England has shown that children from deprived areas are almost twice as likely to be obese than those in affluent areas. Specific findings from the analysis were:

  • Obesity levels among Reception Year children in the 10% most deprived areas in 2011/12 was 12.4% compared to 6.2% of Reception Year children living in the 10% least deprived areas.
  • Obesity levels among Year 6 children living in the 10% most deprived areas was 24.2% compared to 12.8%in the 10% least deprived areas.

Further details are available at:

  1. Measuring National Well-being: What matters most to personal well-being?

Regression analysis from the ONS Measuring National Well-being programme (based on the results of the 2011/12 Annual Population Survey) has identified which factors matter most to people’s sense of personal well-being:

How people view their health was the most important factor related to personal well-being, followed by employment status and relationship status.Other findings included:

  • Living alone was negatively related to personal well-being, regardless of relationship status.
  • Employees with higher wages gave higher ratings of life satisfaction on average than those earning less, but feelings that things were worthwhile, and levels of happiness and anxiety were not related to earnings.
  • People living in the least deprived local areas reported slightly higher levels of anxiety than people living in more deprived local areas.

For a Somerset perspective on personal well-being see:

  1. Residential Property Sales

The Land Registry has started releasing monthly residential property sales data at full address/postcode level. Data for February 2012 to March 2013 is now available:

In the last year (2012/13) there were 1,160 sales of new properties in Somerset and 7,283 sales of existing properties. The areas with the highest numbers of new property sales were Taunton (296), Bridgwater (273), Yeovil (115), Street (45) and Wellington (45).

One third (33%) of properties sold in Somerset in the last year were detached properties, at an average sale price of £299,396. Terraced properties were the next most common property type, at an average of £158,946. Overall, monthly sales peaked at 861 in August 2012 and declined to 490 in March 2013.

Mendip saw the highest average property price (£218,591), just above West Somerset (£216,158). The Somerset average was £206,853.

  1. Commuting Patterns

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published details of commuting patterns across England and Wales, using data from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Information is available through a mapping tool, spider map or bar chart:

The data suggests that around three-quarters (75%) of workers in South Somerset, Taunton Deane and West Somerset live and work within their own district. For Sedgemoor and Mendip the proportion is around two-thirds (67%), with notable proportions commuting to North Somerset and BANES respectively. Taunton Deane is the only Somerset district to experience a net inflow of commuters.

  1. International Short-Term Immigration

Latest annual figures from the International Passenger Survey estimate that 441 short-term international migrants moved to Somerset for the purposes of employment or study (241 and 200 people respectively) in 2011. Short-term migrants are defined as people who stay between three and 12 months. Within the South West only Bristol saw a higher number of international migrants whose reason for relocating was employment.

  1. Community Life Survey

The Community Life Survey is a new national survey(replacing the Citizenship Survey) which aims to captureongoing views on a range of societal and community issues, including volunteering, charitable giving, community cohesion and local decision making:

Although the results are presentedat a national level, there are also some regional breakdowns provided. These show, for instance, that the South West currently has the highest rate of formal volunteering and the highest rate of formal charitable giving of any region in England.

  1. Public Health Heatwave Plan

Public Health England’s newly published Heatwave Plan for 2013 highlights available research and evidence on the effects of hot weather on health. The Plan identifies 25 degrees C as the temperature at which excess deaths may start to become apparent.

The Plan includes an Equality Analysis, identifying older people aged 75+ and some people with disabilities as key vulnerable groups. Further research suggests that a significant proportion of elderly people do not actually perceive themselves as vulnerable and innovative methods of getting messages across are required.

The Somerset Local Authorities Heatwave Plan has been provisionally updated for 2013 and will be available on the Somerset County Council Intranet site:

(this sitewill be accessible to SCC staff only)

  1. Forthcoming Statistical Releases

The following datasets are due for release at sub-regional geographies during June 2013:

  • 2011 Census - Detailed Characteristics on Housing for Local Authorities in England and Wales
  • Population Estimates for Local Authorities by Age and Sex - Mid-2012 (ONS)
  • Homes and Communities Agency Housing Statistics - 2012/13 (DCLG)
  • Destinations of Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 pupils - in 2010/11 (DfE)
  • Small Area Pupil Absence and Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England - 2011/12 (DfE)
  • Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England - end 2012 (ONS)
  • Provision for Children Under Five Years of Age in England - January 2013(ONS)

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SINe is part of the wider South West Observatory network, and is hosted by the Somerset Strategic Partnership