Reference · Methodology
Four-nation coverage and topic gaps
Which parts of the UK each topic page’s evidence covers, read from what the page itself states — and the subjects the site has not yet covered, in the order we would add them.
The short version
- Of the 35 topic pages in the site’s registry, the headline evidence is stated for the United Kingdom on 23, for Great Britain on 6, for England on 10 and for England and Wales on 1. Some pages state more than one, so these overlap.
- Only 3 show Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland separately anywhere in their evidence. Elsewhere the devolved nations appear only inside UK or Great Britain totals — or not at all where the evidence is for England.
- 7 pages cover nothing in Northern Ireland, because their evidence is for England, England and Wales or Great Britain, or because the page says so.
- 6 subjects with large public consequences have no chapter yet. We would add them in this order: council finances, prisons and probation, childcare and early years, water and the environment, transport, climate adaptation. The gap register.
Which territories each page’s evidence covers
Each row is one of the 35 topic routes in the shared registry. The classification reads the geography each page states on its proof cards (the first card is the evidence for its headline) and on its published action records. It describes what the pages show, not what data exist: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish many of their own series, and most health, education, housing, justice and care policy is devolved, so an England figure says nothing about the other three nations.
- Headline evidence
- Shown elsewhere on the page
- Inside a wider total, not shown separately
- Not covered
- Not stated
| Topic | Headline evidence is for | UK | GB | Eng | E&W | Scot | Wales | NI | Nations shown separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy & cost of living | Great Britain, employees | United Kingdom: Shown elsewhere on the page | Great Britain: Headline evidence | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Shown elsewhere on the page | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Housing | England | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Not covered | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Not covered | Scotland: Not covered | Wales: Not covered | Northern Ireland: Not covered | None |
| NHS | England | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Not covered | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Shown elsewhere on the page | Scotland: Not covered | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Not covered | None |
| Crime & safety | England and Wales, adults 16+ in households | United Kingdom: Shown elsewhere on the page | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Headline evidence | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Jobs & pay | UK | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Shown elsewhere on the page | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Shown elsewhere on the page | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Education | England, state-funded schools | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Not covered | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Not covered | Scotland: Shown elsewhere on the page | Wales: Shown elsewhere on the page | Northern Ireland: Shown elsewhere on the page | GCSE results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Scotland’s National 5 shown separatelySchool exclusions compared across the nations |
| SEND | England, ages 0–25 | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Not covered | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Not covered | Scotland: Not covered | Wales: Not covered | Northern Ireland: Not covered | States that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different laws and definitions (England only) |
| Immigration | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Inequality | England, area deprivation deciles | United Kingdom: Shown elsewhere on the page | Great Britain: Shown elsewhere on the page | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Inflation | UK | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Shown elsewhere on the page | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Energy | Great Britain, dual fuel, direct debit | United Kingdom: Shown elsewhere on the page | Great Britain: Headline evidence | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Public finances | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Follow the money | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Revenue options | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Public procurement | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Benefits | Great Britain | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Headline evidence | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Shown elsewhere on the page | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Not covered | PIP in England and Wales; Scotland’s Adult Disability Payment is named as a separate system but not shown |
| Pensions | Great Britain (1994–95); United Kingdom (2024–25) | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Headline evidence | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Defence | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Monarchy | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Brexit | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Shown elsewhere on the page | Northern Ireland and the Windsor Framework |
| Media | UK, adults 16+ (base 5,397) | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Votes & seats | United Kingdom, all 650 constituencies | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | All 650 constituencies, including Northern Ireland’s 18 |
| Political funding | Great Britain and Northern Ireland | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Government delivery | UK government (most measures apply to England or Great Britain) | United Kingdom: Shown elsewhere on the page | Great Britain: Headline evidence | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Manifesto tracker | UK (housing pledge: England) | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Party comparisons | UK | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Shown elsewhere on the page | Wales: Shown elsewhere on the page | Northern Ireland: Not covered | SNP (Scotland) and Plaid Cymru (Wales) compared; no Northern Ireland party yet |
| Polling | Great Britain (one poll UK-wide) | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Headline evidence | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Growth & productivity | UK and G7 | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Innovation | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| AI capability | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| UK outlook & action | UK (most domain measures cover England) | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Policy scenarios | UK | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Hampshire | Ceremonial Hampshire, 13 council areas | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Not covered | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Not covered | Scotland: Not covered | Wales: Not covered | Northern Ireland: Not covered | None |
| Health | United Kingdom | United Kingdom: Headline evidence | Great Britain: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | England: Shown elsewhere on the page | England and Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Scotland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Wales: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | Northern Ireland: Inside a wider total, not shown separately | None |
| Social care | England | United Kingdom: Not covered | Great Britain: Not covered | England: Headline evidence | England and Wales: Not covered | Scotland: Not covered | Wales: Not covered | Northern Ireland: Not covered | None |
How the map is built, and its limits
- “Headline evidence” is the geography on the page’s first proof card, which proves its headline; where that card has no geography the page’s hero label is used (monarchy and policy scenarios have no proof cards).
- “Shown elsewhere” comes from the page’s other proof cards, the territory of its published action records, and the pages listed in the last column, each checked by hand on 4 October 2026.
- “Inside a wider total” means a UK, Great Britain or England-and-Wales figure includes the territory; it cannot tell you anything about that territory on its own.
- A page that says it leaves a territory out is marked “not covered” even where a UK-wide figure would otherwise contain it.
- Deep-dive pages are not read, so a topic may have more nation detail than its landing page shows. The map is rebuilt from the pages on every release.
Topic-gap register
Subjects the site does not yet cover, with the question a reader would bring, the official series that could answer it (each opened on 4 October 2026), the decision it would inform and why it ranks where it does. The order follows the scale of harm and the policy decision a chapter would enable. These are plans, not findings: no figure here is used elsewhere on the site.
1. Council finances
- Reader question
- Can councils keep paying for social care, special educational needs and homelessness — and what happens when one cannot?
- Decision it informs
- How the local government settlement and funding formula share money between councils, and what happens to high-needs (SEND) deficits and to councils that need exceptional financial support.
- Scale of harm
- Councils run adult social care, SEND support and temporary accommodation, three services this site already covers. For 2026–27 the government lists 36 councils with exceptional financial support agreed in principle (plus the City of London’s housing account and two police-function authorities) — borrowing or asset sales to balance a budget, not new grant. (Corrected 4 October 2026: an earlier version said “more than 40 authorities”; the list updated on 18 August 2026 has 36 councils.)
- Territory
- England (local government finance is devolved; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland publish their own)
- Candidate series
- MHCLG, Local authority revenue expenditure and financing (revenue outturn and budgets) — Spending by service and reserves, every English council, annual.
- MHCLG, Local authority capital expenditure, receipts and financing — Borrowing and capital receipts.
- MHCLG, Exceptional Financial Support for local authorities for 2026–27 (23 February 2026) — Councils and amounts agreed in principle.
- Would live on
- Public finances, joining Social care, SEND, Housing
- Why this position
- Largest reach across existing pages, a live annual decision, and official series ready to use. It also explains why the same constraint appears on the social care, SEND and housing pages. Covered in part since 4 October 2026: the count of councils needing exceptional support is a finding on Public finances (pf-w-councils) and feeds the national finding on capacity to deliver (UK-W4); the chapter itself is still to build.
2. Prisons and probation
- Reader question
- Is there room in prisons, and does what happens after sentencing reduce reoffending?
- Decision it informs
- Sentencing and capacity: how many prison places to build, how far to rely on community sentences and early release, and what probation needs to supervise people safely.
- Scale of harm
- England and Wales held 85,858 prisoners on 30 June 2026, and the Probation Service supervised 258,332 people on 31 March 2026 (MoJ, 30 July 2026). The crime page stops at the offence; the plan notes that imprisonment, probation and reoffending are missing.
- Territory
- England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate justice systems)
- Candidate series
- MoJ, Offender management statistics quarterly (30 July 2026 (latest)) — Prison population, receptions, releases and the probation caseload.
- MoJ, Proven reoffending statistics — Reoffending rates by sentence type, with a lag of about two years.
- Would live on
- Crime & safety, joining Public finances, Public procurement
- Why this position
- A measurable capacity problem with a decision now in front of government, quarterly official data, and a direct gap in an existing page’s story. Covered in part since 4 October 2026: the Crown Court caseload (crime-w-courts) and the prison population against useable capacity (crime-w-prisons, from the weekly estate figures) are findings on Crime & safety and in the national capacity finding (UK-W4); probation, reoffending and a chapter are still to build.
3. Childcare and early years
- Reader question
- Can parents find and afford childcare, and are the government-funded hours reaching the children meant to get them?
- Decision it informs
- How the expanded funded hours are paid for — the hourly rate to providers, which families are eligible and whether places exist where they are needed.
- Scale of harm
- Childcare affects whether parents can work (the jobs page) and what children know when they start school (the education page). The funded-hours entitlement for working parents was extended in stages to September 2025, so take-up and provider supply are the questions now.
- Territory
- England (childcare policy is devolved)
- Candidate series
- DfE, Funded early education and childcare (formerly Education provision: children under 5 years of age) (2 July 2026 (latest)) — Take-up of funded hours by age and entitlement.
- DfE, Childcare and early years provider survey — Places, staff, fees and costs reported by providers.
- Would live on
- Education, joining Jobs & pay, Inequality
- Why this position
- Connects two existing pages, has a recent policy change to evaluate, and has official series; ranked below councils and prisons because the immediate harm is less acute. Covered since 7 October 2026: the chapter /education/childcare (take-up stored from DfE, capacity, evidence and the Burnham-era position), the finding edu-w-childcare on Education and the national childcare option A66.
4. Water and the environment
- Reader question
- Is there enough water for homes, farms and growth, how often does sewage reach rivers and the sea, and who pays to fix both?
- Decision it informs
- How water companies are regulated and financed: investment allowed in bills (reservoirs, leakage, metering), penalties, and the shape of the regulator that replaces today’s arrangements.
- Scale of harm
- Without action England faces a public water supply deficit of up to 5 billion litres a day by 2055 (Environment Agency), and in September 2026 ten of the fourteen Environment Agency areas were in drought. Every monitored storm overflow in England reports how often and how long it spilled each year. The follow-the-money page already shows water company dividends and debt, but not what the money has or has not fixed.
- Territory
- England for the overflow and water-resources series; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate regulators and data
- Candidate series
- Environment Agency, Event Duration Monitoring — storm overflows annual returns — Spill counts and durations for each overflow, 2020 to 2025, ten water and sewerage companies.
- Environment Agency, National Framework for Water Resources 2025 (17 June 2025) — The projected supply–demand gap to 2055, by region.
- Environment Agency, Dry weather and drought in England (weekly reports) — Drought status by area, reservoir storage, river flows and water company restrictions.
- Would live on
- Follow the money, joining Growth & productivity (water supply), Hampshire (drought), Energy (regulated bills), Public procurement
- Why this position
- Good site-level data and a live regulatory decision, but a narrower population of decisions than the three above. Covered in part since 4 October 2026 (widened from sewage to supply): the supply deficit and drought are findings on Growth (grow-t-water) and Hampshire (hampshire-t-water), bill-funded water investment on Follow the money (ftm-o-water, with action A53 on metering and a social tariff), and the national threat UK-T4. Sewage, river quality and a water chapter are still to build.
5. Transport
- Reader question
- Is it getting easier or harder to get around — by bus, rail and road — and what does it cost?
- Decision it informs
- How to fund and organise buses and rail (fares, subsidy, franchising) and where to spend on roads and safety.
- Scale of harm
- Transport shapes access to work, school and hospital, and road deaths and serious injuries are counted every year. The site touches transport only inside the economic-affairs line of public spending.
- Territory
- Great Britain for roads and casualties; rail and bus series differ by nation
- Candidate series
- DfT, Road accidents and safety statistics — Reported road casualties, Great Britain, annual.
- DfT, Bus statistics — Passenger journeys, mileage, fares and subsidy.
- DfT, Road traffic statistics — Traffic by vehicle type and road.
- ORR, Passenger rail usage — Journeys and passenger kilometres, Great Britain.
- Would live on
- A new topic (not yet built), joining Jobs & pay, Growth & productivity
- Why this position
- Broad reader need and good data, but it would be a whole new topic rather than a chapter on an existing page, so it needs more work per decision enabled.
6. Climate adaptation
- Reader question
- How many homes and services are exposed to flooding and heat, and is protection keeping pace?
- Decision it informs
- How much to spend on flood defences and adaptation, and where — and which risks to plan for rather than defend against.
- Scale of harm
- The Environment Agency’s 2024 national flood risk assessment maps the homes and businesses at risk in England; the Climate Change Committee reports on adaptation progress to Parliament. The harm is real but mostly expressed as modelled future risk.
- Territory
- England for the flood risk assessment; the Climate Change Committee covers the UK
- Candidate series
- Environment Agency, National assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England 2024 (17 December 2024) — Properties at risk from rivers, sea and surface water, now and with climate change.
- Climate Change Committee, Progress in adapting to climate change — 2025 report to Parliament — Independent assessment of adaptation progress, UK.
- Would live on
- A new topic (not yet built), joining Housing, Public finances
- Why this position
- Important, but the evidence is largely modelled risk over decades, which the site handles least well; it should follow the topics with observed outcomes. Covered in part since 4 October 2026: flood exposure is a finding on Housing (housing-t-flood, with action A54 on allocating flood money by risk), heat deaths on Health (hea-t-heat), the Climate Change Committee’s verdict on Growth (grow-t-climate) and Southsea’s coastal risk on Hampshire, all brought together in the national threat UK-T4. Overheating in homes, infrastructure resilience and a full chapter are still to build.
Also: Northern Ireland parties
- Reader question
- What did the parties standing in Northern Ireland’s 18 seats promise in 2024?
- Where things stand
- The party comparison covers seven parties standing in Great Britain; its proof card says Northern Ireland parties are not yet included. The donations register already includes parties registered in Northern Ireland.
- Next step
- Add the Northern Ireland parties that won seats in 2024 to the same seven issues, from their own manifestos with page references, marking which proposals concern devolved matters at Stormont rather than Westminster.
- Sources
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (candidates and results) — Who stood and who won in each Northern Ireland constituency.
- Electoral Commission, political finance database — Donations to parties registered in Northern Ireland, already used on /politics/donations.
- When
- Small and self-contained: it can be done alongside the first gap rather than waiting for its place in the list. Party comparisons.