News http://www.swo.org.uk/swo-news.rss Read SWO's response to the latest ONS Consultation 'Beyond 2011': a consultation on the current user requirements for data and how these requirements are likely to change over the coming years. This response raised issues around up-to-date population statistics at ward level, Local Authority obligations around equality stands as well as Local Authority Officers working in Economic Development also being involved in partnership working with their LEP. To read the full response, click on the icon below. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51277 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:54:29 GMT 20120127135429 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:47:58 GMT 20120127134758 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:54:29 GMT 201201271315429 The January edition of 'Finding the Dots', the Culture Module bulletin of research, events and publications has just been released. Download it now for all the latest on local, regional and national cultural research. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51101 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:32:01 GMT 20120126133201 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:21:25 GMT 20120113142125 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:32:01 GMT 201201261313201 GDP contracted by 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, driven by weakness in the production sector. Growth in the construction sector was slightly negative and was flat in the service sector, so these two sectors made no contribution to GDP growth in the fourth quarter. Comparing GDP to the same quarter in 2010, output expanded by 0.8 percentage points. And in 2011 as a whole, GDP grew by 0.9 per cent compared to 2.1 per cent during 2010. So the economy has showed subdued growth during 2011. Despite the contraction in output in the fourth quarter, employment rose by 26,000 in the three months to November, compared to a year ago. However, this is a relatively modest increase in employment, and with the economically active population continuing to rise, the unemployment level and rate has risen quite sharply in the three months to November. After remaining steady in the 7.7-8.0 per cent range throughout the two years between mid-2009 to mid-2011, the unemployment rate has since moved up to 8.4 per cent in the three months to November. This resulted from an increase of 118,000 in the number of unemployed people between the two latest three month periods to a level of 2.68 million. As a result of the weakness in employment, which during much of 2011 was weaker than the level of economic activity, productivity in the whole economy has started to recover some of the ground lost during the recession. Measured in terms of output per worker, whole economy productivity has risen in the third quarter of 2011, to reach a level 0.9 per cent higher than a year earlier, while output per hour was 1.3 per cent higher. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51193 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:06:43 GMT 20120125110643 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:40:42 GMT 20120125104042 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:06:43 GMT 2012012511110643 The Future Homes Commission, chaired by business leader, Sir John Banham, is conducting a major national inquiry into the quality and delivery of newly built housing, and has announced a call for evidence, asking the public, housebuilding industry, architects, academia and policy makers to submit their views on the future of housing in Britain. The commission will engage with the public and experts from across the housing sector as part of a major consultation, aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of the challenges affecting the delivery of housing and identifying innovation in order to shape its blueprint for the future. Alongside the Call for Evidence and conversations with the housing industry, the Commission will be visiting people in their front rooms, town centres and online, to build a truly comprehensive picture about what people want and need from their homes and how the market can deliver this. The Commission was instigated by the RIBA as part of its HomeWise campaign which aims to improve the quality of the nation's new build housing. In reaching its recommendations, the commission will report back to Government, housebuilding industry and RIBA in autumn 2012. Sir John said: "We want to hear from all of those with a stake in the housing sector in order to gain a deep understanding of the barriers to development, the challenges in the design process and the impact of economic pressures on the housing products that are delivered. We're embarking on a demanding and challenging exercise to understand what makes a quality home today, and how it can be designed and delivered to ensure a sustainable housing stock for the future. "Crucially, we won't just be analysing the problems of the past. We want to look to the future, draw lessons from some of the excellent and innovative schemes that have been delivered, from the developers that are doing things differently and look to find solutions that will ensure that more new homes are delivered, to the right quality and at the right price for the British consumer." The Future Homes Commission has called for evidence on the following areas: > Internal design - how housing design impacts on the lives of the household, and what are the barriers to improving quality and driving innovation in internal design, focusing specifically on accessibility, energy performance, security, space and storage. > Designing local communities - which amenities, facilities and infrastructure are needed to ensure economically and environmentally sustainable neighbourhoods that have a positive impact on wellbeing, public and mental health > Housing marketplace - what the priorities are for consumers when choosing a home are, how is the housing market segmented, the role for consumers and how the market might influence the design of new homes > Finance and affordability - is there potential for new models of delivery and investment within the housing market, what are the barriers in terms of viability to delivering more high quality homes, within the context of the current planning system and investment markets. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51192 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:40:40 GMT 20120125104040 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:37:51 GMT 20120125103751 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:40:40 GMT 2012012510104040 SWO has today responded to the current ONS consultation on measuring national wellbeing. This consultation by the ONS is looking at proposed domains and measures for measuring national wellbeing. Click on the icon below to read SWO's response. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51179 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:37:07 GMT 20120123113707 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:29:07 GMT 20120123112907 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:37:07 GMT 2012012311113707 'A Future for British Film - it begins with the audience' Lord Chris Smith. Download the Film Policy review, published yesterday (16/01/2012). http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51153 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:57:02 GMT 20120117165702 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:49:37 GMT 20120117164937 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:57:02 GMT 201201171645702 In the three months to November 2011, seasonally adjusted estimates of international visits to and from the UK fell by 1 per cent versus the previous three months. Earnings from visits to the UK fell 4 per cent while expenditure on visits abroad remained broadly the same. Longer term, non-seasonally adjusted visits to the UK have risen by 2 per cent in the past 12 months and earnings have grown by 5 per cent Visits abroad by UK residents have remained broadly the same in the past 12 months but expenditure on those visits has fallen by 3 per cent. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51078 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:52:12 GMT 20120112135212 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:47:25 GMT 20120112134725 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:52:12 GMT 201201121315212 According to today's ONS Index of Production (November 2011), the seasonally adjusted Index of Production fell by 3.1 per cent in November 2011 compared with November 2010. The seasonally adjusted Index of Manufacturing fell by 0.6 per cent in November 2011 compared with November 2010. The seasonally adjusted Index of Production fell by 0.6 per cent between October 2011 and November 2011. The seasonally adjusted Index of Manufacturing fell by 0.2 per cent between October 2011 and November 2011. http://www.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=51076 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:51:33 GMT 20120112135133 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:51:05 GMT 20120112125105 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:51:33 GMT 201201121315133