Checks on the Report, after queries were raised by users, have showed that incorrect geographical constitutions or boundaries of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) were used in some cases, and in one case the Report placed a PCT under the wrong Strategic Health Authority (SHA). These errors arose in a busy period when the boundaries were sometimes still subject to change, but ONS very much regrets that the errors were not detected before publication and apologises for any inconvenience caused.

More information is given below, including a listing of the geographical errors and the steps to be taken to issue corrected figures. The figures can be corrected by transferring whole wards or Output Areas, and there are no disclosure protection issues. Users can make corrections in the interim period before revised figures are released by using Key Statistics for wards or OAs [more details...]

Details of errors
There are errors in seven PCTs. These arose as the result of incorrect constitutions being provided for four of the PCTs, and as the result of incorrect interpretation of constitutions/boundaries for the remaining three. The effect on the figures in the Report can be summarised as:

• the misallocation of two wards between Eastern Hull and West Hull which resulted in Eastern Hull having some 2,250 fewer households and 4,000 fewer people out of a total of 45,921 households and 112,446 people.
• the creation of statistics for North Stoke and South Stoke being based on best fitting OAs to 2001 wards instead of using whole 2003 wards which resulted in North Stoke having some 2,150 fewer households and 4,700 fewer people out of a total of 51,427 households and 118,621 people.
• the incorrect interpretation of constitutions/boundaries between North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and West Lincolnshire which resulted in North Lincolnshire having some 8,800 fewer households and 21,500 fewer people out of a total of 53,779 households and 127,818 people, North East Lincolnshire having some 4,400 more households and 10.700 more people out of a total of 70,940 households and 169.938 people, and West Lincolnshire having some 4,400 more households and 10,800 more people out of a total of 96,092 households and 229,596 people. As North Lincolnshire and West Lincolnshire are in different strategic Health Authorities the totals for the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority and the Trent Strategic Health Authority are also affected.

Swindon PCT was wrongly allocated to the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority instead of to he Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA in the Report.

Lists of all errors/corrections in terms of wards/OAs can be found HERE.

Correction and re-issue
ONS is taking the following steps:

• issue of a list of the wards, OAs and codes so that users can recalculate their own PCT figures immediately if they wish (see above)
• contacting known customers, including the Regional Health Observatories, with information about the corrections
• rerunning Key Statistics for PCTs in the second half of September when CAS production is complete
• putting the corrected Key Statistics on-line in NeSS; issuing an erratum slip with existing copies of the Report : and making corrected downloadable versions available here for users of the CDs issued with the report.

Standard Tables and CAS for PCTs will be produced for the correct geography.

This page last revised: 15 October 2003