London population, crime rates and pupil premium

FOI Ref: FOI/2022/4131

You asked

I would like to make a freedom of information request regarding the following data.

1. A combined current population estimate/figure of the whole South London region inclusive of all of it's twelve boroughs (Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, and Wandsworth). This would also be great if we could have a comparison to the other combined regions of London I.e North London, East London, West London, Central.

2. The combined total area size of the South London Region, including statistics for other combined regions of London.

3. Updated Crime statistics for each combined region of London, I,e, South London, North London, East London, West London, Central.

4. An updated percentage of BME residents within the whole South London Region and the same for other combined regions of London.

5. Percentage of unemployed adults between the ages of 18-65 within the separate combined regions of London. I.e South London, North London etc.

6. Percentage of Pupil Premium students in the combined area of the South London Region and the same for the other combined regions of London.

We said

Thank you for your request.

Census statistics are provided for areas which have statutory boundaries. Greater London is constituted of 33 Boroughs. North London, South London, West London, etc are not standard statistical areas and as the definition of each is ambiguous, I have provided statistics for all London Boroughs thus enabling you to group the areas as you wish.

The most up to date information available is from the 2011 Census. We aim to release the first results for Census 2021 data on the population of England and Wales in Summer 2022, and to publish all other main Census 2021 data within two years of census. As such, updated information from the 2021 Census is considered exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. Furthermore, as a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.

This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules   are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest.  This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.

For more information about the planned release schedule please see the Office for National Statistics website here.

Please find attached the following tables from the 2011 Census.

Question 2. Table KS101EW - Usual resident population for all London Boroughs. This provides the area in hectares of each borough.

Question 4. Table KS201EW - Ethnic group for all London boroughs.

Question 5. Table KS601EW to KS603EW - Economic activity for all London Boroughs. This shows all usual residents aged 16 to 74.

Question 6. Table KS102 - Age for all London boroughs. This table enables you to establish the number of school age children.

We publish statistics taken from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and crimes recorded by the police.

Unfortunately, we do not hold the crime estimates at the geographical level requested.  The survey sample is designed to provide estimates of crime at the national level for England and Wales, the survey sample size does not allow for the production of the estimates at this level.  You can find the most recent crime data in our quarterly release Crime in England and Wales; here. Some limited data is published at lower geographical levels such as regions and Police Force Areas/Community Safety Partnerships which you may find useful.

We also publish data on police recorded crime but do not hold data at the level of granularity requested. The Home Office are responsible for collating this data and may be best placed to help you with any further questions. They can be contacted at CrimeandPoliceStats@homeoffice.gov.uk  

It is also possible to download some street level crime data at police.uk

If we can help you further with your request, please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing crimestatistics@ons.gov.uk  

'Pupil premium' is a term used by the Department for Education to fund improvements in education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. The census counts how many children of school age there are but does not collect information on income.  We therefore consider this information as not held by the ONS. For information on 'pupil premium' you should contact the Department for Education https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium/pupil-premium

The tables provided have been downloaded from Nomis. Nomis is a service run by Durham University on behalf of the Office for National Statistics and provides data from the 1961, 1981, 1991, 2011, and 2011 Censuses

If you have any further queries about your data please feel free to contact Census Customer Services (census.customerservices@ons.gov.uk)