A new tool allowing prospective house-hunters to check out a neighbourhood before they buy a property there is now available.

The new Neighbourhood Statistics website with 2001 Census information has been launched by the government. The data has been available previously but the new website allows easy and flexible exploration of the demographics on any area.

The site gives detailed access to the demographic profiles of 8,850 wards and 175,434 output areas in England and Wales and provides information on residential districts such as their ethnic make-up, the proportion of married couples, the average number of cars owned and so on.

Ease of use

The website is easy to use and only needs the entry of the postcode. The software then returns a map of the area or ward covered by the statistics and a summary of information on the people living and working within the area, their health and employment status.

Key data given:

• Resident population and age.
• Marital status.
• Ethnic group.
• Religion.
• Health and provision of care.
• Economic activity.
• Students and qualifications.
• Housing and households.
• Levels of crime.

Confidentiality has been a concern for the government and so in areas with only a few households, numbers are rounded up to prevent individuals from being identified.

The website now supports multiple geographies. Data already held on the site are based on 1998 ward boundaries and remain supported by the system - whilst the latest Census Key Statistics are on 2003 ward boundaries. The website now allows you to switch between different geographies.

These boundaries are shown on a map, which also offers more flexibility such as the option of switching map details (e.g. town names, urban areas, rivers, roads and railways) ‘on’, or 'off'.

Boundaries for output areas are also shown on the map - allowing placing them in reference to other local features such as wards, roads and other landmarks.

The website can be explored at www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/