V2.1 Blackburn with Darwen ISNA Story 2014 North Locality Story

The ISNA Story for Blackburn North Locality summarises some of the key published data about this part of Blackburn with Darwen. It also presents the “Local People’s Story”, from an engagement exercise with residents in all four wards. Blackburn North is not simply one place; it is made up of closely linked communities:  Shear Brow  Brookhouse  Whitebirk  Little Harwood  Sunny Bower  Bank Hey  Brownhill

The south west neighbourhoods of Shear Brow and Brookhouse are very close to Blackburn Town centre although by some measure cut off from the Town centre by Barbara Castle Way. They comprise high density terraced housing on the valley side characterised by very steep streets. Little Harwood is similar although has more diverse housing with social housing and some larger family housing. To the north of the A6119 are Bank Hey and Sunny Bower with more modern and larger and privately owned housing.

Local People’s Story A comprehensive programme of engagement has been carried out across the North Locality to find out how residents feel about the areas in which they live, and the assets or deficits that influence their health and wellbeing. This type of research is not necessarily statistically representative, but it makes up for that in the depth of feedback and insight gained. The research took place in schools and community centres in all four wards – Bastwell, Shear Brow, Little Harwood, and that part of Roe Lee ward which falls within the North Locality. It included focus groups with South Asian heritage women from Bastwell, Shear Brow and Little Harwood and a group of white women over the age of 50 from Roe Lee. Educational psychologists also carried out engagement with a sample of schoolchildren. Participants were asked about their interpretation of wellbeing, and how they used specific health-related activities, community assets and local resources to improve their own health and wellbeing. Population Almost 24,000 people live in the North Locality (23,717) in more than 7,650 households. The area has a very young population with almost one in three people aged under 20 (32.8%), compared with 29% for the Borough and 24% nationally. It also has a high proportion of people of younger working age (16-44), with 44% compared with 40% in the Borough and 39.4% nationally. This also means a smaller part of the community is aged over 65 with just over one in ten over pensionable age (10.5%), compared with 13% in Blackburn with Darwen and 16% nationally. Ethnicity and religion – More than two out of three residents have South Asian ethnicity (67%), with more than one in three being of Indian heritage (36.8%) and more than one in four Pakistani (26.4%). The V2.1 Blackburn North ISNA Story 2015 v2.1 2 numbers of South Asian residents is reflected in the religious make-up of the locality with two thirds of residents being Muslim (65.8%). Almost three in ten residents (29%) was born outside the UK, and almost a third (30%) of that group came to the UK since 2000, although there have been inflows since the 60s and small numbers of in-migrants since the 1940s. Language – More than three in ten North Locality residents do not speak English as their main language (31%), compared with 13% in the Borough. The most spoken main languages after English are Gujarati (3,252), Punjabi (1,397) and Urdu (1,184). In more than four out of ten households not all residents have English as their main language, and in almost one in five households (18%), nobody does. Many can speak English well even though it is not their main language, but almost 2300 people in North Locality cannot. Household composition - With a young population more than four out of ten households have dependent children (42.3%) compared with 35% in the Borough and 29% nationally. Conversely the proportion of single person households (27%) is lower than both the Borough (30%) and national (30%) level. Starting Well Child Development – There is an issue with low birth weight in the North locality with 10.2% of children weighing less than 2500g at birth, compared with 9.3% for the Borough and 7.4% nationally. In Brookhouse the rate reaches more than 11%. Early child development is poorer than the Borough average with 35% of children achieving a good level of development compared with 41% across the Borough and 52% nationally. The poorest levels of child development are found in Shear Brow, Brookhouse and the southern parts of Little Harwood and Whitebirk. Learning - By the time children get to 11 though, they are starting to catch up to the borough average levels, with Key Stage 2 results for reading, writing and maths at 73% compared with 75% across the Borough and nationally. Then by age 16 the rate for achieving good grades at GCSE at 59.3% almost matches the Borough average of 59.8%, which is on a par with the national rate of 60.6%. Parts of Shear Brow and Brookhouse are above the national average. School absences (4.4%) are lower than Borough (5.2%) or national figures with the northern parts of Shear Brow less than 4%. Obesity – The obesity rate for children in reception in the North locality (9%) is less than both the Borough (10%) and national (9.4%) average. However by the time children reach the end of primary school, the obesity rate (20.3%) is higher than the Borough (18.5%) and national (19.1%) rate. In parts of Brookhouse, Little Harwood and Whitebirk it reaches one in four children (25%). Child Poverty – Almost three in ten children in the North (28%) live in poverty, and in the south east corner of Brookhouse, either side of Whalley Old Road, the proportion approaches four in ten children. Children and Young People’s Health – Parents of children aged 0-15 were marginally less likely to rate their child’s health as good (96.3%) than those in the borough (96.6%) or England (97.1%). Local People’s Story – Children taking part in the engagement programme were clear about the importance of keeping their bodies healthy through diet and exercise - with the local cash and carry earning special mention as a source of fruit and vegetables. They also appreciated the significance of emotional factors such as ‘having a smile on your face’, and the role of medicine in ‘making you better’. Children stressed the importance of their home and immediate locality, and enjoyed playing in the garden or playing cricket on the street. They liked visiting the park, playing with ‘lots of children of different ages’ at the baths or in local football matches, and taking part in activities at Youth Zone, Splash at Riverside, health centres and indoor play centres. The children were appreciative of youth-oriented clubs and groups, and felt they had plenty of opportunities to meet up with other children and do things together.

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Living Well Learning and skills – Adult skill levels as indicated by qualification levels compare poorly with local and national rates, with fewer than one in five residents (18%) having a level 4 qualification or better (degree level) compared with three in ten nationally (30%). A substantial 28% of working-age adults in North Locality have no qualifications at all, compared with 23% in the Borough and 15% nationally. Deprivation – Levels of deprivation in the North Locality are relatively high with an overall deprivation score of 40.1 compared with 35.2 for Blackburn with Darwen and 21.5 for England. The locality includes part of one of the small areas (Lower Super Output Areas or LSOAs) amongst the one percent of most deprived LSOAs in the country. The Brookhouse area includes three LSOAs amongst the most deprived 10% nationally, and Shear Brow includes one in this group. Little Harwood has two small areas among the 20% most deprived nationally. Fuel Poverty is also higher overall in the North Locality (21%) than for the Borough (14%) and England (10%) with above-average fuel costs taking more than one in five households below the poverty line. This is particularly intense in two small areas nearest to the town centre and Shear Brow, and in the northernmost part of Brookhouse and the bordering area in Little Harwood, either side of Whalley New Road. Work and Jobs – Residents in the North locality are more likely to be economically inactive (i.e. neither working nor looking for work) than in any of the three other localities. Economic inactivity rates at the time of the 2011 Census stood at almost four in ten (39% aged 16-64), compared with the Borough (30%) and nationally (23%). However, economic inactivity in the North locality is far higher among women (54%) than men (25%). Women are much more likely to be looking after home or family in Blackburn North (25%) than in the Borough as a whole (14%). This is particularly the case in Brookhouse, where economic inactivity among working-age women stands at over 60%. The Job Seekers Allowance claimant rate for North locality as a whole (3.3%) is similar to the borough average (3.1%), but the claimant rate for all key out-of-work benefits combined (14.4%) is slightly lower than the Borough average (15.6%). Almost 15% of working residents are employed in manufacturing, a little less than the Borough average (16%) but still higher than nationally (9%). The largest employment sector is wholesale and retail, which employs almost one in four working residents (23%) compared with 18% in Blackburn with Darwen and 16% nationally. This along with the restaurant sector, which employs 6% of working residents, accounts for almost three out of ten working people (28.8%), higher than either the Borough (22.7%) or nationally (21.5%). Housing – Housing is predominantly privately owned with almost two-thirds of households owning their own home (65%), which is similar to the Borough and national averages. Between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, the percentage of households buying their home with a mortgage fell from 28% to 24%, while private renting almost doubled from 7% to 13%. The older housing is located in the parts of Shear Brow and Brookhouse nearest to the town centre, with new housing moving to the north. The North Locality has the biggest problem with overcrowded households, with almost 11% compared with 7% for the Borough, and this is concentrated in Shear Brow, Brookhouse and parts of Whitebirk. Two out of three properties are in Council Band A (67%) compared with 59% across the Borough and 25% nationally. Health - People in the younger working age groups (16-49) in North locality were about as likely to feel they were in good health (85%) as those across the borough (86%), although a little less than nationally (90%). People in older working age groups (50-64) were less likely to rate their health as good (53%) than either those across the Borough (62%) or nationally (73%). This pattern was mirrored when people were asked about long-term activity-limiting illness. Rates for 16-49 year-olds were similar to the Borough and national averages, but North locality residents aged 50-64 were considerably more likely to have a long- term activity-limiting illness (45%) compared with the Borough (34%) and nationally (23%).

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Lifestyles – Adults aged 16+ in North locality were marginally less likely to be obese (23.7%) than those across the borough (24.6%) or nationally (24.1%). Binge drinking rates are low (9.8%, compared with 18.9% across the borough and 20% nationally), as would be expected for a majority Muslim area. Some parts of the North locality are as low as 5.5%. Cancer – The system of cancer registration means that it is one of the few diseases where we can study the number of new cases (incidence). This varies between the four localities, with links to a range of risk factors. It is expressed as a ratio above or below 100, where 100 represents the national average. For all cancers combined, breast cancer and colorectal cancer, the North locality and the borough as a whole both have incidence rates similar to or better than the national average. Within the North locality, the lowest incidence rates tend to be in the south-west corner. For lung cancer, however, North locality (123.4) and Blackburn with Darwen as a whole (123.6) are both worse than the national average. Use of Health Services – Across the borough, emergency admissions to hospital for all causes, standardised for the age of the population, are more than a third higher (137.3) compared with nationally (100). In the north locality this increases to 142.4, and the rates in the areas of Shear Brow and Brookhouse which border the town centre are more than 80% greater than nationally. Emergency admissions for coronary heart disease (CHD) are over 80% higher than nationally, with the highest rate (of almost two and a half times the national figure) to be found in the north of Shear Brow. Emergency admissions for heart attacks are over 70% higher than nationally with the same geographical pattern as CHD. Planned admissions for CHD are more than twice the national average (215.9), and particularly high across the southern part of the locality. Emergency Admissions for hip fractures among those aged 65+ are close to the national average, although there is quite a sharp divide within the North locality, with the highest rates in the southwest corner. Planned admissions for hip replacement are at least 23% lower than national rates, and are so low in some parts of North locality that the data is suppressed. Local People’s Story – The women interviewed at Bangor Street Community Centre in Brookhouse had already got to know each other through activities such as dropping children off at school, and then gone on to form walking groups or similar. In Roe Lee, the women also did a lot of walking, and felt they had ample exercise facilities nearby. Walking up the steep local hills was seen as being especially good exercise! Residents felt they were well-served locally with a park, shops, and community facilities, including a gym and crown green bowling in Roe Lee. Those living centrally found it easy to get about by bus. There were plenty of opportunities for social interaction, including a luncheon club, church groups and going for walks.

Ageing Well There are almost 2,500 people aged 65+ in the North Locality, a little more than one in ten residents (10.5%), compared with 12.9% across the Borough and 16.3% nationally. One in ten households (10.3%) are people aged 65+ living alone, compared with 12.4% nationally; while 5.2% of households in the North locality comprise two or more people aged 65+, lower than either the borough (6.4%) or nationally (8.4%). Health – People aged 65+ in the North locality are less likely (37.6%) to rate themselves as being in good health than comparable groups across the Borough (41.6%) and nationally (49.4%). They are more likely to identify that they have an illness that limits their activity a lot (37.7%) compared with those aged 65+ across the Borough (34.4%) and Nationally (26.9%). Life Expectancy – Life expectancy for the North locality is 75.8 years for men, which is close to the Borough average of 75.9, though well below the national average of 78.9 years. Women can expect to live 80.5 years in the North locality, which is much the same as across the Borough (80.4), and 2.3 years less than across England. Female life expectancy is lowest in Shear Brow, at 78.2 years. Mortality rates - By expressing death rates as a ‘Standardised Mortality Ratio’ (SMR), we can compare them with the national average (100) while taking account of the local age profile. The North locality has an SMR of 129.3 for deaths from all causes (all ages), and 131.4 for deaths from all causes (under 75). Both of these are similar to or just above the Borough average. The North locality’s rate for deaths from cancer

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(101) is below the Borough average, and not significantly different from the national average. However, deaths from circulatory disease are one third higher in Blackburn with Darwen (133) than nationally, and higher still in the North locality (145). In Shear Brow the rate is almost 80% higher than the national average. The North locality’s SMR for Deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) is 164, well above the national average and slightly higher than average for the Borough (156). North locality has the highest SMR for Deaths from stroke of all the four localities, at 147, compared to a Blackburn with Darwen average of 128. Shear Brow has the highest stroke mortality rates of all, with an SMR of 228. Local People’s Story – the women from Roe Lee, recruited from an over-50s group, commented that they had a comprehensive range of health facilities and community-based activities on hand. They enjoyed taking their grandchildren to the park, and particularly valued the crown bowling green. For those with more limited mobility, it was hoped to reinstate seated exercise sessions with the help of Age UK. The Roe Lee group reported feeling safe during the day, but they did not generally go out at night.

The older women in the South Asian group also took part in many social activities, organised community events, and patronised the many local shops along with their families.

Version 1.1 Date 28th August 2014

Version 2.1 Date 22nd June 2015

Prepared by Consultees

Kenneth Barnsley - Public Health Dominic Harrison, Sally McIvor, Ben Aspinall, Laura Wharton, Asad Laher, [email protected] Philippa Cross, Ros Walton Tel: 01254 585183

This document draws on three summary sources: 1. North Locality 2011 Census Profile available at: http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/Pages/Census.aspx 2. ‘Areas and their Residents’ Data Atlas for Blackburn with Darwen, available at: http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/Pages/Integrated-strategic-needs-assessment.aspx 3. Blackburn with Darwen 2010 IMD Local Summary, available at: http://www.blackburn.gov.uk/Pages/Deprivation.aspx These are themselves summaries of data with the original sources specified.

Health and Wellbeing Board