The Strategy and Regeneration section is responsible for monitoring statistical information about the social, economic and environmental conditions in the Borough and the circumstances of local people . The section holds a wealth of information about the Borough, its 5 areas, 19 wards and 56 Super Output Areas (SOAs) that is used within the Council for planning purposes and to assist in the development of policy and strategy.
A range of statistical information can be accessed from this page. Popular datasets are provided alongside links to useful websites.
The Census is a survey of all people and households in England and Wales. It provides essential information from national to neighbourhood level for government, business, and the community and is undertaken every decade. The most recent Census was on 29 April 2001, at which time there were 87,206 people resident in the Borough.
The Census is the most complete source of information we have about the population. Key data topics include; population, ethnic group, religion, health and provision of care, economic activity, education, housing and households and crime. Detailed information is available at County, District/Borough, Ward, Super Output Area and Output Area level. The 2001 Census can be accessed online - 2001 Census. In addition a range of Census information can be accessed on any local area by typing in the relevant postcode at the Neighbourhood Statistics, Neighbourhood Profile website.
The English Indices of Deprivation 2004 (ID 2004) is an important tool for identifying the most disadvantaged areas in the country and is used to measure progress made towards the Government’s vision for narrowing the gap between the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of the country. It is recommended for use in accessing funding opportunities and preparing funding applications.
The ID 2004 has been constructed using a more comprehensive model than the English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2000. The IMD 2000 was built around data recorded at ward level, and the ID 2004 has been based on a new geographical level known as the Super Output Area (SOA) lower layer level. Unfortunately this means that direct comparisons between the IMD 2000 and ID 2004 can only be made at district level.
Super Output Areas (lower layer) divide wards into smaller areas. For example, West Ward in Newton Aycliffe has 4 SOAs. Each SOA has a minimum population of 1,000 and a target population of 1,500. They also have a minimum of 400 households. Sedgefield Borough has 19 wards and 56 SOAs; there are 32,482 SOAs in England. All 56 SOAs in the Borough can be seen on a map by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.
The criteria listed above sets an average size for a SOA, which allows a more accurate comparison between areas to be given than has been available in the past, because wards vary greatly in geographical and population size. SOAs also enable ‘hotspots’ of deprivation within wards to be highlighted for the first time, which will enable efforts to improve deprivation levels to be more targeted.
The Government's Neighbourhood Statistics Service is in the process of developing a middle and upper layer SOA. SOAs will replace the current geography of statistics in the future. A short summary of the changing geographical units is attached below.
The ID 2004 measures deprivation using seven domains. These relate to Income, Employment, Education, Skills and Training, Health and Disability, Barriers to Housing and Services, Living Environment and Crime.
Income Domain - the Income Domain of the ID 2004 captures the proportion of the population experiencing income deprivation in an area. It includes indicators that measure adults and children in households that claim Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers Allowance, Working Families Tax Credit, Disabled Person's Tax Credit and Asylum Support. In addition there are two subsets of the Income Domain; Income Deprivation Affecting Children (IDAC) and Income Deprivation Affecting Older People (IDAOP).
Employment Domain - the Employment Domain of the ID 2004 measures employment deprivation as 'involuntary exclusion of the working age population from the world of work'. It includes indicators that measure levels of unemployment, numbers of Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance claimants and participants in New Deal.
Education Domain - the Education Domain of the ID 2004 captures the extent of deprivation with regard to education, skills and training. There are two sub-domains which look at Children and Young People and Skills. These include indicators which measure pupil attainment at Key Stage 2, 3 and 4, numbers of young people not staying on in school or school level education above 16, numbers not entering higher education, absence rates in secondary school and proportion of working age adults that have no or low level qualifications.
Health Domain - the Health Domain of the ID 2004 identifies areas with relatively high rates of people who die prematurely or whose quality of life is impaired by poor health or who are disabled, across the whole population. It includes indicators that measure years of potential life lost, illness and disability ratio, emergency admissions to hospital and adults under 60 suffering from mood or anxiety disorders.
Barriers to Housing and Services - the Barriers to Housing and Services Domain of the ID 2004 measures barriers to housing and key local services. There are two sub-domains which look at Wider Barriers and Geographical Barriers. These include indicators that measure household overcrowding, homelessness, difficulty of access to owner-occupation and road distance to key services such as a GP, supermarket, Post Office or primary school.
Crime Domain - the Crime Domain of the ID 2004 measures the incidence of recorded crime for major crime themes representing personal and material victimisation. It includes indicators that measure levels of burglary, theft, criminal damage and violence.
Living Environment Domain - the Living Environment Domain of the ID 2004 details deprivation with regard to the characteristics of the living environment. There are two sub-domains which look at the Indoors Living Environment and the Outdoors Living Environment. These include indicators that measure condition of social and private housing, houses without central heating, air quality and road traffic accidents involving injury.
Overall Index - an average of all the results for each of the seven domains of the ID 2004.
Overall Index
Sedgefield Borough's overall level of deprivation has improved since 2000 in terms of its comparative ranking against all Authorites in the country. In 2000, the Borough ranked as the 39th most deprived district (1st being the most deprived and 354th the least deprived). Sedgefield now ranks 43rd, however it is still situated within the 50 most deprived districts. Thickley ward in Shildon is the only SOA in the Borough which resides within the 5% most deprived SOA’s in the country. A further two SOA’s are included within the 10% most deprived SOA’s in the country, both of which are within West ward. It should be noted that an SOA in Greenfield and Middridge is marginally outside this 10% bracket. A total of 31 out of 56 SOAs in the Borough are ranked within the 30% most deprived SOAs in the country. 56% of the Borough's population live within these areas.
Income
5 of the Boroughs SOA’s are within the worst 10% in respect of income deprivation in the country. A total of 26 out of 56 SOAs in the Borough are ranked within the 30% most deprived nationally for this domain.
Employment
5 of the Borough's SOAs are within the worst 5% in respect of employment deprivation in the country and 21 are within the
worst 10%. A total of 44 out of the 56 SOAs in the Borough are ranked within the 30% most deprived in the country.
Education
1 of the Borough's SOAs is within the worst 5% in respect of education deprivation and 11 are within the worst 10%. A total of 31 out of the 56 SOAs in the Borough are ranked within the 30% most deprived in the country.
Health
6 of the Borough's SOAs are within the worst 5% in respect of health deprivation and 24 are within the worst 10%. A total of 47 out of the 56 SOAs in the Borough are ranked within the 30% most deprived in the country.
Barriers to Housing and Services
Only 1 SOA in the Borough lies within the 30% most deprived in the country for deprivation related to barriers to housing and services.
Crime
Only 8 SOAs in the Borough are within the 30% most deprived in the country for crime related deprivation.
Living Environment
Only 1 SOA in the Borough lies within the 30% most deprived in the country for deprivation related to the living environment.
To see maps detailing those SOAs residing within the 10%, 10-20% and 20-30% most deprived SOAs in the country for the overall index and each domain please click on the links at the bottom of the page. A copy of the ODPM's full Indices of Deprivation Report 2004 can also be accessed here.
Government Office for the North East (GONE) publish Local Authority Profiles for each district or Borough within the North East Region. Sedgefield Borough's profile can be accessed at the bottom of the page. This profile details a wide range of statistics and is updated regularly.
There are a number of useful statistical websites that provide access to a range of information, which may be beneficial to local people and businesses. To access these websites please clik on the links here.
If you require any statistical information, or information on any of the topics mentioned above please contact:
Gemma Borsberry - Assistant Strategy Officer
Tel: 01388 816166
Email: gborsberry@sedgefield.gov.uk