Disaggregation of Social Report indicatorsData limitations restrict the extent of disaggregation Ideally, it would be possible to break down each indicator by sub-populations of interest, such as age, sex, ethnicity, socio-economic status, disability status and regional and local authority. Most indicators can be broken down by sex and ethnicity.3 However, the majority of the indicators rely on data sources that do not allow us to disaggregate by socio-economic status or disability status because this type of information is not collected, or sample sizes are too small to allow this form of disaggregation. For some indicators (eg unemployment and employment) detailed disaggregations are possible. However, the two-page format for each indicator in the report precludes the inclusion of more information than is currently provided. There is an increasing demand for information on social wellbeing at a regional and local authority level. This largely results from the introduction of the Local Government Act 2002, which requires regional and local authorities to monitor community outcomes. In response to this demand, last year we disaggregated those Social Report indicators for which there was subnational data to regional and territorial authority boundaries. This information was intended to help local authorities identify areas of comparative strength and weakness within their communities, as well as to assist central government agencies in their work at a local level. We have updated these indicators this year where more recent data is available and we have added some new indicators. We have also provided time series information where historical data is available. The regional and local authority indicators are in the regional section of this website. Information for the 16 regions only is also available in hardcopy books that complement the Social Report. |
