Digest of Demographic Statistics This summary of the basic demographic statistics for Wakefield District is intended as an introduction and aide for Nova Wakefield District Limited staff and members. Because of the breadth of the topics covered, it will not always cover topics to the degree of detail and disaggregation that many users will require for their particular purposes. It is also likely that users will find that some topics of interest (such as crime or education and skills) are not covered at all. Wherever possible, links are provided to where further information can be found. Assistance on using these sources can be obtained from Nova Wakefield District Limited (telephone 01924 367418 or email
[email protected] ). Similarly, if you are interested in topics or data not included here, please discuss this with Nova Wakefield District Limited. Background Wakefield District is a metropolitan district, one of five in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, the others being Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Leeds. (The other metropolitan counties are Tyne and Wear, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Midlands.) The metropolitan county councils were abolished in the 1980s, and their powers and responsibilities were transferred to the metropolitan districts. So Wakefield Council has responsibility for all local authority services. In this respect, metropolitan districts are almost identical to London boroughs and to unitary authorities such as Derby and York, which are large population centres within non-metropolitan counties. In non-metropolitan counties, such as North Yorkshire, local services and responsibilities are shared between the district council and the county council.