Agenda item

This report provides a summary of headlines from the Census 21 first release of topic data. It also considers emerging key trends and findings for the Council. The report sets out the plans for the further analysis and reporting of the Census as more data is released through 2023, including developing new ward profiles and a borough profile.

Joanna Howe (Business Intelligence Manager) presented the report which provided a summary of headlines from the Census 2021 first release of topic data. It also considers emerging key trends and findings for the Council. The report sets out the plans for the further analysis and reporting of the Census as more data is released through 2023, including developing new ward profiles and a borough profile.

The Chair asked members to think about what information would be useful for ward councillors to have included in the ward profiles.

The Chair asked if the Council’s Business Intelligence team wove in data from other sources. Joanna Howe said they brought together a number of data sets to provide richer insights into our communities. She gave the example of indices of multiple deprivation which pulled from multiple sources. She noted that census data was used across the Council, matching data sets to get best value.

Councillor Jacolyn Daly asked if officers had faith in the census figures, given that responses were gathered during a Covid pandemic lockdown, and what the implications were if they didn’t. Matthew Sales said officers believed the census accurately reflected the situation at the time, but it was not a true and accurate picture of the current population of the borough due to the unique timing of the census. Officers were working with other boroughs and making representations to Government about it.

Councillor Daly said she expected some groups like students to be under-represented. She had also read reports that the number of empty homes in the borough had tripled and asked for more information on that.

Joanna Howe explained that it was challenging to account for unoccupied homes but further analysis of data showed around 2,000 second homes in the borough, 1,000 homes that were genuinely empty, 3,000 exempt dwellings from Council Tax (meaning the owner was in prison or ill etc.) and 1,300 were short term lets to residents not born in UK, which left around 4,300 properties where the status wasn’t known. The pandemic led to a number of people moving and there was also a change to the total number of houses in borough during that period. She noted that the Office of National Statistics (ONS) would be releasing mid-year estimates in September and officers would understand the picture more clearly next year.

Councillor Daly said she would be interested to see numbers of overseas owners and the impact of Airbnb on available homes.

Referring to Councillor Daly’s earlier point about consequences, Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform) said they were significant because funding could depend on census figures. Many people had moved away during lockdown to be with their families and students moved out of the borough. He said the Council was lobbying Government with other boroughs to ensure they took that into account and residents didn’t lose out.

Councillor Nikos Souslous noted that ward boundaries had changed recently and asked how accurate the comparisons across time were given the changes. Jo Howe explained the data was remapped to the new ward boundaries so it would be accurate.

Councillor Souslous asked when the Council would receive more indices of multiple deprivation data. Joanna Howe said it was coming in mid-August and the mid-year estimate based on the census was coming in September.

Councillor Natalia Perez asked if officers knew which wards the majority of the 14,500 ‘missing’ residents were from and if there were concerns about the impact on social infrastructure in those wards. She also noted that some communities felt ‘invisible’ due to the lack of choices on the census forms (e.g. the Latin American community). She asked if the Council had the means to reach out to those communities.

Joanna Howe said they only knew the changes by ward. The challenge was understanding genuine change versus the expectations of return. Some factors gave indications, for example West Kensington saw the biggest decreases in population but has the highest rate of private renters so there was likely to be undercounting in that ward. Matthew Sales said in terms of hidden communities, officers did a lot of work with the ONS in advance of the census. There were community advisors in certain communities to encourage people to respond. The Council also had a dedicated community engagement team to work with different communities.

Councillor Rory Vaughan noted the data showed the borough’s residents to be in good health and asked what other data correlated with that and what was driving it. Joanna Howe said it would be possible to drill down into this area when the more detailed data arrived later in the year. Matthew Sales added that health data was self-reported, but it would be looked at in context of other data like the indices of multiple deprivation. Councillor Vaughan said he would be interested in a breakdown and any lessons about what the drivers of good health are.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler noted the decrease in young primary school children had been happening for some time, leading to a number of vacant school places which impacted on their funding.

Councillor Daly asked if officers had information on how many people were secure social tenants, how many were in private accommodation, how many were using housing benefit to pay private rents etc. Joanna Howe said it was possible to provide information on numbers of residents in receipt of housing benefit by ward.

ACTION: Joanna Howe

Councillor Perez asked if the data showed access to health provision and social care provision. Joanna Howe said officers could look into that with colleagues in Adult Social Care.

ACTION: Joanna Howe

The Chair said it would be good to have feedback on what was possible with the data available. She also encouraged the PAC Chairs to think about what information would be interesting for their committees to look at in more detail.

Councillor Ree highlighted the importance of the data to help the Council understand its residents and target services more effectively. He said data was more and more important to all our lives, and ensuring the Council was well placed to take advantage of that was one of his priorities. He thanked Matthew Sales, Joanna Howe and the rest of the Business Intelligence team.

RESOLVED

1. That the Board noted the report and supporting Appendix 1 that included the emerging key trends and findings for the Council.

2. That the Board noted the proposed plans for analysis of Census 21 data and offered suggestions of areas for more detailed analysis as part of these plans.

3. That the Board noted and commented on the proposal for interactive ward profiles.