Official Statistics

Wider Determinants of Health: statistical commentary, May 2018

Published 1 May 2018

New in this update

Four indicators new to the Fingertips platform have been added to the Wider Determinants of Health profile. These indicators are available at local authority level as well as for England and the regions, unless otherwise stated:

• average weekly earnings (broken down by sex and earnings decile)
• gender pay gap (by workplace location)
• households with problem debt (region and England only)
• job density

New data has been added to the following indicators:

• individuals not reaching the Minimum Income Standard
• air pollution - fine particulate matter
• economic inactivity rate
• work-related illness
• 19 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training
• children in the youth justice system

Summary of new indicators

This summary focuses on England level data. The Wider Determinants of Health profile presents indicators primarily at the local authority level in addition to regional and England values.

Average weekly earnings

The average weekly earnings indicator has been added to the income domain of the profile. Financial resources can determine the extent to which a person can invest in goods and services which improve health, and purchase of goods and services which are actively bad for health. Low incomes can also prevent active participation in social life and the following social norms affecting feelings of self-worth and status. Though low income in particular is an important focus, the relationship between income and health outcomes operates across the income gradient.

This new indicator shows:

• median gross weekly earnings excluding overtime (full and part-time employees) was £440.20 in England in 2017
• the earnings distribution is skewed; the difference between the median (middle) and the 10th decile (the point below which 10% of earners fall) is just £301.40. However, the difference between the median and the 90th decile (the point above which 10% of earners fall) is £531.00
• the lowest 10% of earners earn less than £138.80 per week, while the top 10% earn more than £971.20 per week

Gender pay gap

The gender pay indicator has been added to the income domain of the profile. This indicator is designed to measure the difference in pay between men and women who work in a given area. The aim is to support local practitioners understanding how employment within their local area contributes to unequal financial resources between men and women. The pay gap identifies the absolute difference between median gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men and women as a proportion of median gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of men.

This new indicator shows:

• across England in 2017, the pay gap was 19.1%
• the pay gap has risen marginally from 18.9% in 2016 but 2016 and 2017 are the lowest in comparable data back to 2011

Households with problem debt

The households with problem debt indicator has been added to the income domain of the profile. The indicator is designed to measure the prevalence of more serious debt that has the potential to impact on people’s health directly through stress related channels and by consuming financial resources that could have otherwise gone towards health promoting goods and services.

This new indicator shows that from 2014 to 2016, 5.8% of households in England had problem debt; down from 7.9% in the period 2010 to 2012.

Job density

The job density indicator has been added to the work and the labour market domain of the profile. Job density is the number of filled jobs in an area divided by the resident population aged 16 to 64 in that area (for example, a job density of 1.0 is one job per person aged 16 to 64). This indicator therefore provides insight into the number of jobs available in an area and complements indicators of unemployment and employment.

This new indicator shows that job density has been steadily increasing post-recession, rising from 0.80 jobs per person in 2013 to 0.85 in 2016 in England.

Summary of updated indicators

Individuals not reaching the Minimum Income Standard (MIS)

The proportion of individuals in the UK not reaching the MIS rose from 25.8% in 2008 to 2009; when the measure began, up to 31.4% in 2013 to 2014, before falling somewhat in the latest data to 29.7% in 2015 to 2016. The Minimum Income Standard focuses on the lower end of the income distribution and is rooted in what the public considers is needed for a minimum socially acceptable standard of living.

Air pollution: fine particulate matter

The indicator of air pollution measuring fine particulate matter has been updated with 2016 data. Across England, the annual concentration of human-made fine particulate matter (adjusted for population exposure) increased from 8.3 to 9.3 micrograms per cubic metre. However, annual change should be interpreted with caution as variation due to weather is generally greater than the year to year variation due to changes in emissions. The longer trend indicates a relatively stable concentration of fine particulate matter.

Economic inactivity rate

In 2016 to 2017, economic inactivity across England remained steady, decreasing by just 0.2 percentage points to 21.8% (not a statistically significant change). Economic inactivity had been decreasing steadily from 23.6% in 2011 to 2012.

Work-related illness

The rate of workers experiencing an illness caused or made worse by work in the previous 12 months remained broadly steady, falling by just 10 per 100,000 workers in 2014 to 2015 up to 2016 to 2017, down to 3,980.

19 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training

The proportion of people aged 19 to 24 years not in education, employment or training (NEET) dropped marginally from 13.4% in 2016 to 13.2% in 2017 across England. The longer term trend has been of a steady decline from 16.4% in 2012 (earliest data point available).

Children in the youth justice system

The proportion of children and young people aged 10 to 8 years who have formally entered the youth justice system has decreased by 0.8 per 1,000 in 2016 to 2017, down to 4.8 per 1,000 in England. This decrease follows a marked decline from 14.1 per 1,000 since 2010 to 2011.

Background

The Wider Determinants of Health tool aims to provide the public health system with intelligence regarding the wider determinants of health to help improve population health and reduce health inequalities. The tool contains seven domains: the natural and built environment, work and the labour market, vulnerability, income, crime, education and the set of Marmot indicators. The Marmot indicators were developed by University College London’s (UCL) Institute of Health Equity, in collaboration with Public Health England. In addition, there is a health outcomes domain enabling a cursory look at how the wider determinants relate to health outcomes.

The indicators that have been brought together for this tool are a combination of wider determinants, health behaviours and health outcomes. We will continue to develop the Wider Determinants of Health profile, developing new indicators dedicated to describing the wider determinants of health.

Responsible statistician, product lead: Clare Griffiths

For queries relating to this document, please contact: wider.determinants@phe.gov.uk

PHE publications gateway number: 2018045