Welcome to the second edition of Public Data Insights, our monthly summary of the latest data and statistical releases from various government departments and public bodies, all with a focus on sub-national insights.
With a wealth of statistics available from government sources, there are many opportunities to leverage this data to communicate key issues to stakeholders at a local level.
Whether you’re tracking unemployment rates, inflation, or more specialised data releases, this round-up is designed to spotlight some of the most intriguing regional and local-level statistics.
Cancer Waiting Times
NHS England’s latest cancer waiting times data reveals that more than 50,000 cancer patients in England waited over two months to start treatment after an urgent referral during the first half of 2024.
Two of the three national cancer waiting time targets were missed again in June, with performance against the 31-day target declining compared to the previous month. Over 4,700 instances of delayed treatment were recorded in June alone.
Separate NHS data shows that more than 3,000 people with a confirmed cancer diagnosis continued to wait beyond two months for treatment in June 2024. Over the past decade, the number of cancer patients waiting longer than a month to start treatment in England has grown five times faster than the total number of patients beginning treatment.
Next update: Figures on cancer waiting times will be updated next month with the latest data.
Ambulance Services and Waiting Times
This briefing draws on official statistics published on the NHS England website. Ambulance services responded to 821,928 emergency 999 calls in July 2024, averaging 26,514 calls per day—a 6.2% increase from July 2023. Of these, 378,186 incidents resulted in patients being taken to A&E, reflecting a 1.4% rise compared to the same month last year. The average response time for category 2 calls was 33 minutes and 25 seconds—an improvement from June 2024, but still slower than July 2023.
Next update: Ambulance quality indicators will be updated next month with the latest data and are split by each of the eleven Ambulance Services in England.
Statutory Homelessness in England
The Ministry of Housing found that from January to March 2024, there were 94,560 initial homelessness assessments conducted, representing a 10.8% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
This quarterly publication now includes new categories in the total assessment figures: 3,330 households that withdrew their application before the assessment and 710 households that were found ineligible or became ineligible. These additions account for some of the increase in assessments this year. Excluding these new categories, the rise in assessments compared to the same quarter last year stands at 6.1%.
Next update: These stats are updated every quarter and broken down by local authorities.
Labour Market Trends
According to the ONS’s research, this month’s labour market figures show a continued decline in vacancies, though they remain 11.0% higher than pre-pandemic levels (Jan-Mar 2020). The unemployment rate is slightly lower than a year ago, with modest increases in both total employment and payrolled employees this quarter. However, annual growth rates suggest a slower picture overall, with the number of employed people lower than last year and slower growth in payrolled employees.
Regular earnings grew by 5.4% in the three months to June 2024, showing some slowing, while total earnings saw a sharp drop due to the impact of last year’s NHS bonus payments.
Next update: The next update is available on the 21st of November 2024 and is broken down by local authority.
NEET Statistics
In the period from April to June 2024, the number of young people aged 16 to 24 years not in education, employment, or training (NEET) rose to an estimated 872,000, up from 798,000 in the same period of 2023. This represents 12.2% of all young people, an increase of 0.9 percentage points year-on-year.
The rise in NEET figures was primarily driven by young men, with the number of young men with NEET status increasing by 69,000 to a total of 493,000.
Next update: The next update is also released on the 21st of November 2024 and broken down by local authority.
LGBT+ people
The results of the 2021 census have now been mapped to the new parliamentary constituency boundaries. The House of Commons Library recently released the latest figures on LGBT+ people in the UK.
3.2% of respondents in the UK identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual, or with another sexual orientation other than straight. 89.5% identified as straight or heterosexual, and the remaining 7.3% chose not to answer.
The census also found that 0.5% of the population of England and Wales have a ‘Gender identity different from sex registered at birth’. However, there has been concern raised over the quality of the results to this question, with the ONS citing ‘higher levels of uncertainty’. They found that those who reported having a ‘gender identity different from sex registered at birth’ were more likely to also say they did not speak English well.
This trend has raised concerns over how the question was interpreted.
Next update: This data is available by constituency and on a regional and national level and will be updated again next year.