What is the My area panel for on the home page of LG Inform?

Public users will see the ‘My area’ tool which allow them to search by postcode or area and select an authority they are interesting in. Once an area has been selected the home page will update to show that areas data for a number of key metrics, and will also be the default area when viewing any LGA standard reports. This area can be changed at any time in the LGA standard report by using the selectors at the top of the report or by returning to the homepage.

What types of councils are being compared to each other on the dials on the front page of LG Inform?

The homepage is managed by the LGA and will be periodically updated to reflect the latest available data, by default it will display the data for England compared to all English authorities. Once a user has selected an area via the 'My area' tool the page will update to show 6 metrics relevant to the type of area selected along with a relevant comparison group, currently this is:

• County councils compared to all English Counties
• District councils compared to all English Districts
• Metropolitan / Unitary or London boroughs compared to all single tier authorities
• Fire and rescue authorities compared to all fire authorities

Can I change the dials on the front page of LG Inform?

When you first register with LG Inform the dials on the homepage will default to those used on the public site for your area. You can choose to leave these as they are and the LGA will periodically update them as new data becomes available, alternatively you can select your own metrics and comparison groups to personalise the dials to your area of interest via the edit dashboard option.

Can you explain how colours are used in LG Inform?

LG Inform has a range of colour palettes users can choose from, however, the system will suggest a default palette based on the polarity of the metric. Metrics are classified into three groups according to polarity:

• A high value is good – e.g. the number of pupils achieving GCSE grades A*-C
• A low value is good – e.g. the number of children in year 6 who are obese
• Polarity is not applicable – e.g. the proportion of the population aged 0-16

In the case of metrics where polarity is applicable the colour will be applied so that the good value is always coloured the same. In the case of metrics where polarity is not applicable an alternative colour palette will be used.

What do the arrows next to dials mean?

The arrows that appear next to dials and within dashboards are a quick indication of an areas direction of travel when compared to the value of the previous period.

The direction of the arrow indicates whether the value is higher or lower than the previous period. A red arrow indicates a worsening position and a green arrow indicates an improving position. Grey arrows are where polarity is not applicable for a metric and simply indicates that a value is higher or lower than the previous period.

Why do I have an empty dial on the home page?

Not all metrics are relevant for all authorities so if your chosen authority does not report data for the selected metric the dial will be blank, for example – if the lead authority is a county council a dial containing planning data will be blank or a dial for a district council will not display if a GCSE metric is chosen.

What are the notifications telling me?

Notifications are only available to registered users, they will let you know when a new report has been shared with you or has been recently updated. There is a link in each notification that will take you straight to the highlighted report. Notifications are filtered by your areas of interest which can be set in Preferences; if you don’t set any areas of interest you will receive all notifications. Deleting notifications doesn’t delete reports from the whole system; these reports can still be found via the site search.

What is contained in My recent activity?

Under My recent activity LG Inform will display a list of your five most recently edited or viewed reports.