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Media contact:
Ed Parshotam at W Communications
[email protected] or 0798 8069567
Dorset crowned England’s best place to live in unique services study
•! Comprehensive B.heard study combines national and regional data on crime,
schools, poverty, fire services, planning and health, uniquely encompassing
national government data and public opinion surveys
•! Humberside worst region to live, ranking second worst for schools and third
worst for fire services
•! Londoners most at risk of becoming a victim of crime, but enjoy highest rated
schools
•! Majority of people (61%) have either a weak or no voice in how their local
services are run
Dorset is the best place to live in England according to a uniquely comprehensive study
of vital services carried out by the world’s first ‘values’ comparison platform, B.heard.
B.heard’s Dependability Index, which is based on a wealth of data points from a variety
of regulatory sources, includes crime rates, schools, fire services, planning and health. It
found Dorset scored highly across the board, including the third best GP satisfaction
score and the fourth greatest proportion of schools receiving Ofsted’s top rating,
Outstanding.
The remaining regions making up the top 10 include North Yorkshire, Gloucestershire,
Surrey, Cheshire, Northumbria, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Cumbria and Warwickshire.
North Yorkshire was found to be a close second in the overall rankings, with England’s
lowest crime rate and highest satisfaction with GPs. However, it was shown to be a
potentially dangerous place to be caught in a house fire, coming 24th out of 38 regions
for number of fire staff per household intensity, and 16th for its schools.
Humberside was found to be the worst region to live for essential services overall,
ranking second worst for schools and third worst for number of fire staff.
Northamptonshire, Essex, the West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire,
Cambridgeshire, Kent, London and Lincolnshire make up the remaining 10 worst places
to live.
Londoners are most at risk of becoming a victim of crime, with 84 offences per 1,000
people, while the capital also had the lowest rate of patient satisfaction with GPs and
ranked second worst at providing for homeless people. London’s schools were its
saving grace, with the greatest proportion of schools receiving Ofsted’s highest rating.
The unique B.heard study is the first to combine nationally published stats on essential
public services with the results of public opinion surveys, comparing people's
perceptions with statistical information used by the government.
An additional study conducted by B.heard among a representative sample of 1,000
adults found that most people (61%) believe they either have a weak voice or no voice
at all when it comes to how their local services – including doctors, schools and fire
services – are run.
This ‘voice poverty’ was highest in the South West and the East of the country, with
69% of people believing they had a weak voice or no voice at all in both regions.
B.heard CEO Oscar Vickerman says: “B.heard is about giving people the full picture –
whether that’s how dependable their bank is or how efficient their local council is. This
latest study builds on our work to gather all available data from regulators and
government bodies and turn this into transparent, useful information for us all.
The majority of people believe they simply don’t have a voice when it comes to how
their local services are run. The first step to address this is to give everyone a clear
picture of the standard of service they are receiving.”
B.heard offers clear, transparent information that enables consumers to fully evaluate
essential service providers in key sectors – including energy, insurance, phone, internet
and even healthcare, education and local government – beyond just price.
10 best places to live (based on all measures, including crime, health,
schools, homelessness and deprivation)
Best:
1) Dorset
2) North Yorkshire
3) Gloucestershire
4) Surrey
5) Cheshire
6) Northumbria
7) Hampshire
8) Hertfordshire
9) Cumbria
10) Warwickshire
Ends
Notes to editors
About B.heard
B.heard is the world’s first ‘values’ comparison platform. It provides clear, transparent
information on the companies we depend on, including energy and finance, to ensure
customers are being offered true value, beyond just price. B.heard puts a stop to
consumers suffering silently from poor service by enabling people to quickly and easily
gain insight into utility companies, through genuine customer feedback. Backed by
high-profile ambassadors and investors, including legendary adman Sir John Hegarty
and pioneering venture capitalist Tom Teichman, B.heard rewards companies who go
above and beyond for their customers. B.heard allows consumers to share their
experiences of energy, health, phone, finance, education and broadband providers – or
even their local council – and every time someone makes themselves heard on the site,
they can make a donation to a charity of their choice. B.heard can be viewed at www.bheard.com
About the data
The unique B.heard study is the first to combine nationally published stats with the
results of public opinion surveys, comparing people's perceptions with statistical
information used by the government. Data published at local levels was then
aggregated to one of 38 police force regions across England using mappings made
available through Ordnance Survey OpenData.
B.heard has utilised data from Ofsted's school inspections outcomes, the GP Patient
Survey, Police Force Area Data Tables from the Office for National Statistics and local
authority data from the Department for Communities and Local Government. B.heard
has determined a ranking for each region across local government, GPs and education,
and then combines these scores to arrive at an overall ranking.
The following data has been specifically used:
•! GPs - Proportion of responses to the July 2015 GP patient survey that stated
"Very good" or "Fairly Good” to the question: “Overall, how would
you describe your experience of your GP surgery?”
•! Education - Proportion of Outstanding schools, as published in the May 2015
Ofsted school inspections outcomes
•! Crime - The total recorded crime per region per 1,000 head of population,
excluding fraud, from Police Force Area Data Tables as of June 2015
•! Local Government - a combination of data made available from the Department
for Communities and Local Government, covering deprivation, planning
application approvals, fire service, and homelessness per local authority
10 best and worst places to live (based on all measures, including crime, health,
schools, homelessness and deprivation)
Best:
1) Dorset
2) North Yorkshire
3) Gloucestershire
4) Surrey
5) Cheshire
6) Northumbria
7) Hampshire
8) Hertfordshire
9) Cumbria
10) Warwickshire
Worst:
1) Humberside
2) Northamptonshire
3) Joint West Midlands & Essex
5) Joint South Yorkshire & West Yorkshire
7) Cambridgeshire
8) Kent
9) London
10) Lincolnshire
10 best and worst places in England for GP satisfaction
Best:
1) North Yorkshire
2) Devon & Cornwall
3) Dorset
4) Durham
5) Gloucestershire
6) Cumbria
7) Suffolk
8) Northumbria
9) West Mercia
10) Derbyshire
Worst:
1) London
2) West Midlands
3) Essex
4) Leicestershire
5) Northamptonshire
6) Kent
7) South Yorkshire
8) Thames Valley
9) Bedfordshire
10) West Yorkshire
10 safest and least safe places in England (crimes reported per 1,000 people)
Best:
1) North Yorkshire
2) Surrey
3) Devon & Cornwall
4) Wiltshire
5) Lincolnshire
6) Gloucestershire
7) Dorset
8) Hertfordshire
9) Derbyshire
10) Cheshire
Worst:
1) London
2) Cleveland
3) Greater Manchester
4) West Yorkshire
5) Merseyside
6) Humberside
7) South Yorkshire
8) Nottinghamshire
9) Northamptonshire
10) West Midlands
Map of England’s best and worst regions for education (highest proportion of
Outstanding schools)
Best:
1) London
2) Surrey
3) Cheshire
4) Dorset
5) Greater Manchester
6) Northumbria
7) Hertfordshire
8) Bedfordshire
9) Merseyside
10) Durham
Worst:
1) Norfolk
2) Humberside
3) Sussex
4) Staffordshire
5) Cambridgeshire
6) Cumbria
7) Derbyshire
8) Essex
9) Northamptonshire
10) Joint Suffolk and Devon & Cornwall
10 best and worst according areas for planning applications processed in the agreed
timeframe
Best:
1) West Yorkshire
2) Cleveland
3) West Midlands
4) Warwickshire
5) Nottinghamshire
6) South Yorkshire
7) Bedfordshire
8) Greater Manchester
9) Northamptonshire
10) Hertfordshire
Worst:
1) Lancashire
2) Devon & Cornwall
3) Durham
4) Lincolnshire
5) Wiltshire
6) West Mercia
7) Avon & Somerset
8) Cumbria
9) Sussex
10) London
10 most and least deprived areas
Best:
1) Surrey
2) Thames Valley
3) Hertfordshire
4) North Yorkshire
5) Wiltshire
6) Dorset
7) Devon & Cornwall
8) Hampshire
9) Cambridgeshire
10) Sussex
Worst:
1) West Midlands
2) Merseyside
3) Nottinghamshire
4) South Yorkshire
5) Cleveland
6) Greater Manchester
7) Durham
8) Avon & Somerset
9) West Yorkshire
10) Northumbria
10 best and worst regions for supporting homelessness
Best:
1) Cumbria
2) Cleveland
3) Cheshire
4) Durham
5) Lancashire
6) South Yorkshire
7) Merseyside
8) North Yorkshire
9) Avon & Somerset
10) Leicestershire
Worst:
1) Devon & Cornwall
2) London
3) West Midlands
4) Cambridgeshire
5) Warwickshire
6) Hertfordshire
7) Bedfordshire
8) Gloucestershire
9) Essex
10) Kent
10 highest and lowest regions for fire staff per household intensity
Best:
1) West Mercia
2) Cumbria
3) Sussex
4) Avon & Somerset
5) Norfolk
6) Hampshire
7) Suffolk
8) Gloucestershire
9) Merseyside
10) Staffordshire
Worst:
1) South Yorkshire
2) Wiltshire
3) Humberside
4) Surrey
5) Durham
6) West Yorkshire
7) London
8) Devon & Cornwall
9) Lincolnshire
10) Greater Manchester