This User Guide introduces the Local Statistics Tool for Age UK Partners and explains how they can get the most out of data for their area.

1. Local
Statistics Tool
User Guide
Vivienne
Avery
AgeUK
Research
2013 Contact:
research@ageuk.org.uk

2. Why use local data?
• To deepen your understanding of older people and their needs in
your area
• To understand the key drivers for funders and commissioners
• To complement and support your qualitative expert knowledge
• To support the identification of local priorities and hot spots
• To ensure your services are targeted where they are most needed
• To develop a dynamic planning process
• To help you to measure impact

3. Benefits of using the tool
I presented the stats tool to staff to
demonstrate the level of intelligence that
can be called upon from Age UK. This is
increasingly important as we move in to a
more clinical world of commissioning and
have to demonstrate the worth of our
services in more quantitative ways.
Alison Waters, Age UK, London & South
I just had the link for the Local
Statistics tool forwarded to me and
had to comment on what a useful and
well-constructed spreadsheet it is. To
be able to access so much London
borough information with just a
couple of clicks is very valuable
indeed.
Ben Donovan, Age UK, London
As a community fundraiser I can tell you I have found this and the
previous versions priceless and am always referring to it for various
event’s, letters and pitches.
Only this Tuesday myself and our Home Services Manager gave a pitch
to our local sainsbury’s as we had been shortlisted for their charity of
the year and used numerous facts taken from this tool.
Lawrie Mallyon, AgeUK Horsham

4. Key features of the tool
• Data for all 365 Local/Unitary authorities, regions +
Home NationsLocal areas
• Broad range of topics from population to service
use and lifestyleTopic range
• Select an area for a profile comparing this to your
regional and national averageLocal Area Profiles
• Choose up to 8 areas for a profile comparing dataArea Comparison
• Reliable estimates from official statisticsData quality
• instantly see how your area compares to the
national picture
Maps
• user friendly access to data on ageingSimplicity

5. Statistics Tool Themes
• Population
• Ethnicity
• Living Arrangements
• Life Expectancy
• Health / Health Services
• Social Care & Carers
• Mortality & End of Life
• Pensions, Poverty and Exclusion
• Employment and Lifestyle

6. Accessing the spreadsheet
The most up-to-date version is on
AGEnet
Updates are announced in the weekly
Signpost bulletin
To access the tool, click on:
Resources
Information and Advice
Information Resources
Local Statistics

7. Maximising the screen
1. Click the
‘maximise’ button
2. Click the left hand
arrow to all
worksheets are
visible
2. Click the left hand
arrow
1. Click the
‘maximise’ button

8. Use the Index worksheet to navigate
to where you want to go
• The spreadsheet
contains 9
worksheets
• Click on the ‘Index’
worksheet for an
explanation of each
worksheet

9. Finding the Indicator you need
Click on the worksheet ‘List of
Indicators’
Scroll down through the list in
Column B to find the item of
interest
Click on the link to go to that
item in the ‘Data’ worksheet
Browse other columns in this
worksheet provide more
information about each indicator
2. Scroll down to browse
through the indicator list
3. Click on a link to go
to the desired indicator
1. Click on the ‘List of
Indicators’ worksheet

10. Using the ‘Data’ worksheet
The ‘Data’ worksheet lists areas in
rows and indicators in columns
National and English regional totals
are listed first, followed by
 local authorities
 social care responsibility areas
that are county councils
 Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland local authorities/districts
To find your area either scroll
down through the list
Or use the ‘search’ function

11. To search for a local area
• Click at the top of column
D to highlight the column
• Click on ‘find and select’
• Type in part of the area
name
• Click ‘find next’ if a
different area comes up at
first
• Highlight the row for that
area to read across for all
the indicators
1. Click to highlight
Column D
2. Click ‘Find and
Select’ and type in
area name

12. Using Social Care data
• About half of the areas
responsible for providing
social care are local/unitary
authorities, and half are
county councils
• Social care data is stored in
the relevant row
• Data for the county
councils can be found by
scrolling down below the
local authorities

13. Local Area Profiles
• This tool provides an overview
of statistics on older people in
your area and compares this to
the regional and national
average
• Simply select an area from the
drop-down list and the profile is
created automatically
• You can print or save the profile
as a .pdf by clicking the buttons
(you may need to enable
macros in your version of Excel)
Select chose authority from
drop-down menu

14. • This tool allows you to
compare similar data to the
local profile for up to 8 areas
• You select the areas in the
same way from the drop-
down menu
• There are buttons to save a
pdf and print the profiles
Area comparison profiles

15. Maps of selected indicators
• A selection of maps provide a
snapshot of how your area
compares with the national
pattern
• To adjust the size for a better
view, either
• use the zoom feature within
excel,
• or click on the map and drag
and corners
• or cut and paste into another
document
• The maps are .jpeg files and
can be cut and pasted into other
documents for your own use

16. Lower level analysis
• This worksheet tells you
how to get data for different
geographies including
smaller areas
• Data for smaller areas
provide a more precise
picture but are only
available for a few
indicators
• In future we hope to include
these in the tool
• If you have a mapping
request for lower level data
please contact Research

17. Web tool on the Knowledge Hub
• We developed an interactive map
tool for the Parliamentary
Conferences showing data by
Parliamentary Constituency
• Added this to the Knowledge Hub
• Go to Age UK website, click on
‘For professionals’ at the top then
‘Knowledge Hub’ from menu at
RHS
• We hope to update this in 2013
with new statistics and updated
definitions of the areas covered by
local partner Age UKs.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/professional-resources-home/knowledge-
hub-evidence-statistics/interactive-maps-of-ageing-/

18. Feedback
• There are currently over 50,000 data items in the spreadsheet. We have
done some intensive checking but there may still be errors. Please let us
know if something looks odd
• We need your feedback
• Comments on the content and design feed into our future planning
• Details of how you have used the tool (especially income generation)
to help make the case to continue this work
• Requests for future items
• Send your feedback to research@ageuk.org.uk or contact
vivienne.avery@ageuk.org.uk / tel: 0203 033 1381