Wirral Mosaic Profile

Latest Report

Wirral Mosaic Profile 2021 (accessible)

Wirral Mosaic Profile 2021 (colour accessible)

Please note: Mosaic uses both alphabetical and colour referencing which can be difficult to read for some groups, we have added an additional version without these colour issues.)

Key Messages

  1. The largest Mosaic Group in Wirral is Group E – Senior Security, with 40,802 people or 12.5% of the Wirral population classified as belonging to this group. This group is typically older people with assets, enjoying comfortable retirement suburbs like Wallasey (which has the highest number of residents classified as belonging to this group of any ward in Wirral)

  2. Over half of the population of Wirral (57.3%) are classified as belonging to just five of the 15 Mosaic groups, these are: Group B – Prestige Positions, Group E - Senior Security (12.5%); Group H - Aspiring Homemakers (11.1%), Group I - Family Basics (11.2%) and Group J – Transient Renters (12.3%)

  3. Four Mosaic groups exist in such small numbers in Wirral, they can mainly be disregarded in analysis concerned with the Wirral population. These are: Group A – City Prosperity (0.0%); Group C – Country Living (0.4%); Group D - Rural Reality (0.1%) and Group N – Urban Cohesion (1.4%); together these 4 groups make up just 1.9% of the Wirral population

  4. Compared to the UK overall, Wirral has an over-representation of groups with an older age profile and/or those who have precarious finances

  5. Groups which are under-represented in Wirral (compared to the UK overall) are those which are either diverse, rural, very affluent or those who have younger age profiles (e.g. young professionals and student populations)

  6. The geographic distribution of the different Mosaic groups in Wirral reinforces very clearly, what is already known about deprivation in Wirral, with the east of Wirral is dominated by deprived groups such as Group J – Transient Renters and Group I – Family Basics. The west of Wirral on the other hand, is dominated by more affluent Mosaic groups, such as Group D – Domestic Success and Group B – Prestige Positions

  7. Although the majority of the UK adult population (71.1%) now own a smartphone, this varies considerably; among the most common Mosaic Group in Wirral (Group E - Senior Security), this figure is much lower at only 42.7%

  8. Communication preferences vary considerably by Mosaic Group, as does ownership and familiarity with devices such as smartphones and the extent to which people feel comfortable and confident using the internet

  9. The Mosaic Group which comprises the largest percentage of the Wirral population (e.g. Group E) are one of the least likely to be tech savvy and/or own smartphones, which has implications for local services

 

Overview of Mosaic

Mosaic is one of a number of tools which can help health, local government and third sector organisations gain more insight about their residents, target services at those most in need of them and communicate with people in the way they prefer. 

Mosaic segments the population according to postcode and is constructed from a range of sources including the Census, consumer behaviour, financial data, hospital episode statistics (HES) and lifestyle data.

In the current climate of financial challenge, Mosaic can be a very useful tool, as it allows organisations to target information at those who may find it most relevant or useful. Mosaic segments the population into 15 groups (A-O), and the Wirral Profile 2021, shows how those 15 groups are distributed across Wirral, with tables and maps explaining the differences between the groups and how Wirral looks compared to England for example.

More about Mosaic

  • Packages such as Mosaic have become more widely used by the public sector in recent years because they are useful in providing in-depth information about the needs and behaviours of local people.

  • They use a large number of open data sources including the Census, health, education, criminal justice system, housing and consumer data (i.e. about products that people buy and their finances for example) to ‘segment’ the population into different groups, who can then be better targeted based on their preferences, needs and behaviours.

  • Using Mosaic means that information can be targeted just where it is needed. For example, information on how you can reduce your risk of falling as you age is not appropriate for people in their 20’s, but it may be of interest to people in their 70’s and 80’s.

  • Targeting messages more effectively and ensuring that the right message is read by the right person at the right time is also cost-effective, as resources are not wasted informing everybody about issues which may not affect them.

  • The profiles we produce using Mosaic are used to inform and commission services. Below are some examples of the information we have provided to various teams and departments in Wirral to enable them target their work more effectively, as well as an overall profile of Wirral.

  • Mosaic is not appropriate for every situation or service of course, but it is one of several useful tools our team has access to, which informs and provides us with additional insight into the needs of Wirral residents.

Previous Reports

Please note: Due to changes in methodology by the provider of this data, it is not possible for these reports to be exactly compared to newer information in the main as some groups have been reclassified.

For more information about Mosaic, or to find out if it could help you in your area of work, please contact the Wirral Intelligence Service at phintelligence@wirral.gov.uk

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