The default geography within Neighbourhood Statistics (NeSS) is the Super Output Area (SOA), which is designed to be a stable, small area building block, SOAs are intended as a purely statistical geography, and although they allow for detailed small area data, they are not intended to represent communities or large non-statistical structures.

The National Statistics Geography Policy underpins geographic dissemination within NeSS, this policy allows for a 'best fit' option where a larger, geographic entity, such as a ward, does not exactly correspond with the boundaries of the smaller building block units. Please see this article, Guidance on how to obtain data for wards, for an example of how this 'best fit' methodology works.

While the maps within Neighbourhood Statistics are reasonably accurate in most instances, they are mainly intended to add context to data or to give an indication of where a small building block unit, such as a SOA lies within a larger area to assist in the visualisation of data. They are not intended to provide pin point accuracy of particular structures, especially when a building block unit could straddle a particular boundary.

Where there is any uncertainty or a discrepancy relating to a boundary or structure within NeSS, information provided by Ordnance Survey should be considered as the definitive source as this will be based on absolute location rather than being assigned as part of the National Statistics 'best fit' methodology.

In any query regarding the location of a boundary or location in a boundary, any map produced by the Ordnance Survey should be acknowledged as being a true representation of a geographic area .

I typed in the name of the area where I live and it was not recognised. Why not?

If you are having problems finding your area, please try a postcode. This increases the chances of you pin-pointing your area. Neighbourhood Statistics holds a vast geographic database, and we try to account for changes to names of areas over time. However, there will be some occasions where certain names for areas are not available.

It is best to keep the name search as simple as possible, for example, an area named St. Helens may provide a number of results depending how the name has been entered in the database. For example it could be entered as:

St. Helens
St Helens
St Helen's
Saint Helens

You are much more likely to get a result if you were just to enter Helen or, preferably, a postcode.

I don't know the postcode - how do I get a Neighbourhood Summary?

Through user research we established that the vast majority of our Customers used postcode as the primary form of search. If you don't know your postcode, use the Royal Mail Postcode Finder. This is a free service although there is a limit of 15 searches which can be made in a single day.

Why do some postcodes give information for the wrong area?

Postcode areas are set by Royal Mail and are primarily designed for delivering mail. Some postcodes cross over Output Area, parish, ward or even local authority boundaries. It is necessary for us to allocate every postcode to one area only and we do this according to which area has the majority of resident population of the postcode area (as at 2011 Census).

On some rare occasions a postcode may be placed in the wrong area due to frequent ward boundary changes or the creation of new postcodes. Please report these errors, although no 'quick fix' can be promised due to the frequency of the changes.

Why can't I get data for my postcode?

Postcodes are a point or collection of points so while useful for pinpointing areas, they are not good for accurate collection of statistics, their main purpose is to assist in the delivery of mail. ONS has used postcodes and existing ward boundaries to create Output Areas - these are grouped in different ways ensuring data can be collected but anonymity retained. More about areas and the creation of Output Areas and Super Output Areas are available from ONS.

How have percentages been calculated in the Census Key Statistics tables?

In all Key Statistics tables, the percentage calculation in each cell uses the overall population of the table as the denominator, even where the table contains a sub-population breakdown.

Why is the type of area I need not listed?

We have a range of area types available on the site, focusing on small areas. However, it is not possible to include all types of area, for example NeSS does not have data for 'Towns' or 'National Parks'. We suggest you enter a postcode within your area and choose an area most similar in size.

The data I obtained consists of symbols not numbers, what does this mean?

Sometimes it is not possible to display a numerical value for an area. The can be a number of reasons for this, the area may have had a boundary change since the data was collected, data may have been suppressed to prevent identification of individuals within the area, or data may just not be available. The symbols most frequently used within Neighbourhood Statistics are:

.. not available
. not applicable
- negligible
0 nil
x data suppressed to protect confidentiality (sometimes '-' or '..' are used for this)
~ cannot be calculated

In addition to these symbols, Eurostat have compiled a harmonised convention of data symbols:

Harmonised Symbols

* Please note, under the new convention the symbol for Nil, '0' can only be used when the figure is a true zero

Values for Census 2011 are described as 'Estimates' rather than 'counts'. Why is this?

The 2011 Census statistics are estimates of the whole population. The census counts of people who were included on a questionnaire are adjusted to include estimates of people not included on a questionnaire. This link provides full details of the definitions and glossary used in the 2011 Census.

Why do I keep getting 'Session Timeout' messages?

To ensure users receive a fast service from Neighbourhood Statistics Service it has been necessary to limit the time that the user leaves the page 'inactive' for. In other words, if you stop interacting with the website for a period of around 15 minutes, any attempt to contact the site will fail and you will have to start again.

I get Error Messages /'Session Timeout'/site upgrade message even when I have not been inactive or an upgrade has finished.

On occasion you may get the 'timeout' message when you have not been inactive or an Error or 'site upgrade message' even if the upgrade has finished. This is usually because your internet browser, particularly Internet Explorer, is not set to look for a new page on every visit to the site.

In the first instance, press Ctrl+F5 simultaneously to force the loading of a new page.

If this does not work, use the following instructions:

Select 'Tools' from the Internet Explorer menu bar,
then select 'Options', then 'General',
then 'Settings' (in the Temporary Internet files section).
'Check for newer versions of stored pages' should be set to 'Every visit to the page'. If necessary change this and click on OK.

If you are not using Internet Explorer but are getting the 'timeout' message, please check your browsers 'help' function to see how to ensure that new pages are loaded on every visit.

It is also advisable to clear out all temporary internet files using your browsers tools.

You may need to reboot your PC if you still get the message after taking the actions above.

When I produce a Thematic Map map using the 2011 Statistical Hierarchy it looks completely different to one I produced using the 2001 Statistical Hierarchy and there are blanks in the map. Why is this?

Due to changes in population numbers from 2001 and 2011 there has been an increase in the number of Output Areas and Lower Layer Super Output Areas, please see this guidance for more information.

This means that, whereas using 2001 Census data and the 2001 Statistical hierarchy, my map looks like this:

Map produced using the 2001 Statistical Hierarchy

Thematic Map 2001 Statistical Hierarchy

Using the same 2001 data with the 2011 Statistical hierarchy produces a map like this:

Map produced using the 2011 Statistical Hierarchy

Thematic Map 2011 Statistical Hierarchy

This is because the area has changed between the censuses and you are not comparing identical geographic entities. The first map shows the area as it was at the time of the 2001 Census, the second map shows the same area changed as a result of the 2011 Census.

Why do some 2011 Census downloads still refer to GORs?

We are identifying reference to the obsolete Government Office for The Region (GOR) and replacing it with 'RGN' for Region. This will only apply to data collected after the abolition of GORs, data collected prior to this will still refer to them. More information about GORs and Regions can be found here.

Can I download a map?

No, at present the Neighbourhood Statistics website does not have this facility. It is possible to capture a map image, using the 'Ctrl' + 'Print Screen' buttons. You can then either paste the captured image into you document, or use an application such as Paint or Photo Editor, to edit the image and remove any unwanted page detail.

How do I compare data for different areas or different data for the same area?

To define your own table, map or chart click on the 'Custom' link found at the bottom of the screen. Full instructions to help you to use this facility can be found here.

What is an output area?

An output area is a geographical area that allows data to be collected for very small areas across the whole country. More about areas

It is hard to create a large area from Output Areas. Can I create my area using a different geography?

At the moment this is not possible.

Can I re-use this data?

Data on Neighbourhood Statistics is subject to Crown Copyright. Users are granted permission to reproduce Crown Copyright material provided that certain terms and conditions are adhered to.

Why can't find the topic I need?

We are sorry if the topic is not available. Useful information could be available through different words and we would suggest using the 'Search within topics' facility to try to locate topics. If we do not have data you require, try using our external links. Neighbourhood Statistics continues to collect data and new data is added to the website regularly. Please contact us if you have any specific data needs and this will help us focus our efforts to provide relevant data.

All the statistics I want for my area are out of date - how do I find statistics for this year?

Many of the datasets available for local authorities and Super Output Areas are regularly updated, but we do not routinely provide equivalent figures for other geographies such as wards and parishes.

You are here:

Frequently asked questions

Main Content