Communities and neighbourhoods

Places Community

The Places Community brings together a wide range of statistical and geographic evidence around the concept of 'place'. The Community is an alliance of existing data services, and is a shared resource for the Communities and Local Government department and its external partners/stakeholders to improve delivery of evidence-based policy and decision making. The Community's main aim is to enable a shared understanding of the 'facts', and so facilitate stronger and more effective collaboration and partnership working on policies and programmes at local, regional and national levels.

The Community achieves this through:

providing consolidated sources of evidence from local neighbourhoods through to regional and national levels
enabling efficient and effective access - eg by organising information topics of interest, not organisational lines, and making it available via a number of tailored 'Analytical Windows' and on-line services
being responsive and flexible to new demands - eg by enabling new data, or views to be brought on-line much more quickly and cost-effectively than via stand-alone systems

This web page aims to raise awareness of all Place Community members. It provides access to their Analytical Windows and shows you how they complement each other. Visit the different Analytical Windows, access the underlying data stores; look at the useful links, read the frequently asked questions and learn more about how data and mapping can work for you. To receive news updates on all Places Community members, regional events and the Places Community newsletter, you need to register at http://www.places.communities.gov.uk/CommunityRegister.aspx (external link). You can select the specific member news that you are interested in receiving.

If you are interested in reading the latest Places newsletter please visit the Places website (external link) and follow the link on the left hand side.

The Analytical Windows

Places analytical windows - provides access to a broad range of statistical information at several geographic levels across England (including Cities, City Regions, Town Centres, Local Authorities and Regions). For use by: private and public sector users with a curiosity in exploring a broad range of data relating to their place of interest http://www.places.communities.gov.uk/places (external link).
Floor Targets Interactive (FTI) - allows users to find and analyse data which is used to measure the performance of different places with respect to key government targets called 'Floor Targets. The analytical window is intended to service both users in government and academia, and the wider public audience. For use by: Practitioners of neighbour renewal http://www.fti.communities.gov.uk/fti/ (external link).
State of the Cities database - allows the generation of reports and charts on the performance of the 56 largest Cities in England and their City Regions and also provides summary information on the largest Town Centres and Retail Cores in England and Wales. For use by: Practitioners and Policy makers in the field of urban and economic development and regeneration http://www.socd.communities.gov.uk/socd (external link).
Green Spaces - integrates information on Open and Green Places making it available via a range of channels - including Google Maps. It provides an online community where information on green spaces can be shared and improved. For use by: Those involved in Green Space Strategies - includes local authorities, national agencies such as Natural England, Forestry Commission and third sector organisations such as CABE SPACE.
Community Maps: Digital and Social Geographies of Great Britain - by placing digital, social and resource (e.g. UK online centres) data on a map in a clear visual format this tool simplifies decision making about delivering local services. Partners include Experian, Point Topic, University of Essex, Connection Services Ltd, UK Online Centres and Citizens Online. This is a pilot web site for 1 year to test demand for this kind of data at a local authority level To get further information email mapping@digiteam.org.uk. For use by: Local authorities http://www.gps.communities.gov.uk/communitymaps (external link).
Data4nr.net - Data for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration - identifies and signposts the datasets available for targeting, monitoring, priority setting and performance management at a neighbourhood level. For use by: Local authorities, Government Offices, Practitioners and Policy Makers http://www.data4nr.net/introduction/ (external link).
Indices of Multiple Deprivation - combines a number of indicators, chosen to cover a range of economic, social and housing issues, into a single deprivation score for each small area in England. This allows each area to be ranked relative to one another according to their level of deprivation. For use by: Public and private sector organisation to aid research and monitoring of deprivation in different localities http://www.imd.communities.gov.uk/ (external link).

The underlying, consolidated sources of evidence (statistical and geographic data stores)

Places Database - holds a broad range of statistical data and information at several geographic levels across England (eg Cities, City Regions, Town Centres, Local Authorities and Regions) Available to a range of target audiences via the PlacesDB, SOCD, FTI, and IMD Analytical Windows listed above http://www.places.communities.gov.uk/places (external link).
Places Analytical Tool (PAT) - PAT is designed to analyse published National Indicator data. It enables ongoing and consistent monitoring of trends and performance of Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) against the National Indicator Set, including those indicators which have been targeted in Local Area Agreements. For use by: Primarily for Government Offices and LSPs. However as a web-based tool with unrestricted access, PAT can also be used by anyone with an interest in the performance of LSPs against National Indicators. http://www.pat.communities.gov.uk/pat (external link).
The Data Interchange Hub (the Hub) is a means of collating and sharing the National Indicator Set for Local Government, Government Offices and Inspectorates with a view to providing up to date information to monitor Local Area Agreements. The Hub also serves as a repository to house the National Indicator Set. For use by: Local Government, Government Offices and Inspectorates http://www.communities.gov.uk/hub (external link).
Geography Publishing Service (GPS) - enables rapid development of interactive web mapping within any Departmental business system or web site. Any data set held can be quickly integrated within a variety of mapping tools, such as Google Maps. GPS also provides the supporting mapping service for the Green Spaces, Fire Incident Reporting Systems and the broader Places Community.

Useful links

Communities and Local Government Related

Local Priorities - are about creating the sort of place customers want to live in. They have been negotiated between local councils, those providing local public services (such as the police, NHS, JobCentre Plus, charities and community organisations) and Government. This service is for general public use http://www.localpriorities.communities.gov.uk/ (external link).
Green Flag awards - a Communities and Local Government policy - the national standard for green spaces. See on a map which parks have been awarded green flag status http://www.greenflagaward.org.uk/maps/ (external link).
Capability Reviews - assess how well equipped departments are to meet their delivery challenges, including improving the use of evidence and analysis in policy making http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/accountability/capability/reports.asp (external link).
The GO Places Handbook - this is an online resource for Government Office staff and their partners who work with places (locality, policy, analysis and performance). http://www.gos.gov.uk/placeshandbook/ (external link).

Wider Government

The Power of Information - is a series of reports on new developments in the use and communication of citizen and State generated public information in the UK
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/power_of_information.aspx (external link).
Green stat - collects feedback from the public on the state of parks http://www.greenstat.org.uk (external link).
Neighbourhood Statistics - provides access to over 300 local level databases. The website collects a wealth of information fro government departments, including census data, to help users build a clear picture of local populations and their needs http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk (external link).
Local Information Systems - are normally publicly assessable websites managed by local authorities and their partners to provide insight on local conditions using evidence to inform policy makers and citizens to improve strategy formulation http://www.esd.org.uk/esdtoolkit/Communities/LIS (external link).