THE number of Covid cases in those over the age of 60 in regions could be used to help decide tiers in England, it has been revealed.

Speaking this morning, secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps, said new data which comes out in the next day or so will be used to help determine which areas go into which tier, with the number of cases in those aged over 60 being one of the factors in making a decision.

“It will be on the basis of a number of cases,” he said, adding: “For example, the number of cases in the over 60s – where it is much more likely or possible that it could be fatal.”

Regions will be allocated one of three tiers, set to be announced on Thursday, with Tier 1 being medium risk, Tier 2 high and Tier 3 very high.

Other factors which will help decide which tier to place an area in could be the case numbers; the reproduction rate; and the current and projected pressure on the NHS locally.

They will be reviewed every 14 days.

Here, we look at statistics on the population of Basingstoke.

In 2015, 113,600 residents lived within Basingstoke town.

According to figures from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, published in 2016, almost a quarter of the town (24.7%) is aged under 20 – 42,960 people.

Compared to the South East and England, the borough has a higher proportion of people aged under 20 and aged between 16 and 64, and a lower percentage aged over 65.

However, in recent years the borough’s population has aged, and this trend was forecast to continue.

In 2014, 16.2 per cent of the population was aged over 65, projected to grow to 24.9 per cent by 2039.

According to the 2011 census, 10.7 per cent of people aged 65 and over in Basingstoke were in bad or very bad health, and 45.3 per cent had a long-term health problem or disability that limited their daily activities.

People aged 65 and over accounted for 44.5 per cent of all those with bad or very bad health.

Read our in-depth analysis of which tier Basingstoke could be place in here.