Building a Suite of Subnational Socioeconomic Indicators for the United Kingdom: Opportunities, Challenges and Recommendations

The UK government’s levelling up agenda has triggered renewed interest in regional disparities. However, for several years, there has been a growing consensus across the UK that better subnational statistics are required to support policymaking and analysis. This paper assesses the challenges and opportunities associated with building a suite of subnational socioeconomic indicators. Such a suite would facilitate the creation of profiles of local areas across the UK’s four nations. By reviewing current international practise, the UK policy and geographical landscape and the vast array of indicators which could be included in a suite, we provide six sets of recommendations. Specifically, we address: which indicators should be included; the timeliness and geographical granularity required; the extent to which indicators should be comparable across the four nations; how measurement, comparability issues and data gaps can be minimised; and how such data should be disseminated.