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Background to Neighbourhood Statistics

  • Last modified date:
    9 February 2007
The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit (within the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister) is managing the National Strategy on Neighbourhood Renewal, developing policies to narrow the gap between the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of the country in the next 10-20 years. As part of the strategy, a report of the Policy Action Team (PAT) 18 on Better Information concluded - 'The absence of information about neighbourhoods has produced a series of failings at national, local and community level'.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), together with the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, are leading the development of the cross-government initiative of the Neighbourhood Statistics Service (NeSS).

The Neighbourhood Statistics website is a useful 'vehicle' for getting small area information out to the NHS and other local players and that it can benefit departmental work not only on Neighbourhood Renewal and Social Exclusion but also:

  • Health inequalities;
  • Access to services;
  • Resource allocation;
  • Targeting specific policy areas within public health

IC/DH is working with statistical and policy colleagues and users to determine key statistical information and measures that are available at a small area level. As part of this process, IC/DH is identifying current data sets (with the relevant geography) and specifying the links with various policy initiatives and sets of Performance Indicators. The aim is to make as many data sets available as possible at small area level (subject to user needs, disclosure controls and availability of information). There are 13 projects (or work packages) that are being taken forward by Neighbourhood Statistics staff within IC as follows:

  • GPs and service provision / Access to Primary Care
  • Hospital Episode Statistics
  • Mental Health data
  • Healthy Lifestyles
  • Older People
  • Disease Registers
  • Patient Experience
  • Disability
  • Accident and Emergency statistics
  • Dental caries in children
  • National Drug Treatment Monitoring System
  • Stop Smoking Services

Further details of the background are available in the following paper:

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