Good to be here Positive aspects of the Heads of the Valleys Acknowledgments

The Bevan Foundation gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Welsh Assembly Government, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Caerphilly Teaching Local Health Board and Tydfil Training Ltd., and an anonymous individual.

The views in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders nor are they necessarily the views of the Bevan Foundation’s Trustees or members.

About the Bevan Foundation

The Bevan Foundation supports social justice in Wales through research, discussion and publications. Our work helps to set and inform the public policy agenda in Wales, particularly on poverty and social exclusion.

We are independent of government, political parties or interest groups. Membership is open to individuals, third sector organizations, businesses and government bodies. E R E

H The Bevan Foundation E

B Innovation Centre O

T Festival Drive D

O Ebbw Vale O

G Blaenau Gwent

N NP23 8XA O I T A D

N Tel: 01495 356702 [email protected] www.bevanfoundation.org U O F

N ISBN 978-1-904767-36-7 A V E B Report Author: Victoria Winckler 2 Date: 4th June 2009 The Bevan Foundation is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity no. 1104191 Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1. INTRODUCTION 5 2. ENVIRONMENT 7 3. ECONOMY AND EMPLOYMENT 14 4. LEARNING AND SKILLS 20 5. HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE 25 6. QUALITY OF LIFE 34 7. CONCLUSION 42 E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

3 Executive summary

1. The Heads of the Valleys is best known for poverty and disadvantage. However there are many positive aspects of the area that are much less well known. This report uses independent evidence to identify the good features.

2. Highlighting the positive characteristics does not undermine the importance of tackling the area’s continuing problems. Importantly, it can help ensure public policy is fully informed.

3. The environment emerges as a major asset. The countryside and access to it, air and water quality, and aspects of the local environment are all first class.

4. The economy and labour market have key strengths too. There are successful, innovative and award-winning businesses, and a substantial number of employees in a wide range of occupations, some of them comfortably off.

5. The workforce has many skills to offer. A substantial proportion of the population is highly qualified, and every year several thousand school leavers move into higher education. Schools are, in a number of important ways, better than those in other parts of south east Wales, which is reflected in the many awards won.

6. Health and social care services face heavy demands but on a number of criteria offer better care than their counterparts in other parts of Wales. These too have been recognized by independent bodies.

7. The Heads of the Valleys offer a good quality of life. It has a unique culture and heritage, an increasingly vibrant contemporary arts scene, and distinctive and affordable housing. Community life is strong and relatively safe.

8. Public policy needs to make the most of these positive features to build a successful and prosperous region. This must be at the same time as tackling poverty and disadvantage - both approaches are vital to the prosperity of the area. E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

4 View of Tylorstown E L D E E N Y R R A B : O T O H P 1Introduction

Barely a week seems to go by without a headline proclaiming that Merthyr Tydfil has the lowest level of some desirable socio-economic feature or that Blaenau Gwent has the highest level of some undesirable attribute. The headlines are indeed correct that the Heads of the Valleys consistently come top of league tables of all kinds of social and economic problems, from economic inactivity to teenage pregnancy, from ill-health to young people not in education, employment or training. But the headlines are also very wrong. Because alongside the deep-seated and very serious problems in the area, there are also some very strong and positive features. To many people’s surprise, there are in fact many good aspects of life in the Heads of the Valleys.

The pernicious drip of negative news and sorry statistics has contributed to a very powerful image of the Heads of the Valleys as deprived, disadvantaged and declining. The Heads of the Valleys in general, and Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent in particular, have become synonymous with poverty. Their problems are believed to be universal, all aspects of life are believed to be substandard, and nothing good can ever be achieved.

This negative picture matters a great deal, because it damages efforts to regenerate the area and dents the confidence of those who do live and work in the Heads of the Valleys. People do not want to live, work, visit or invest in an area which they believe to be ‘poverty ridden’, a ‘sickness capital’ or ‘one of the ten worst places in Britain’, even though the Heads of the Valleys might be the ideal location for their business or to pursue a career.

It also matters because the emphasis on the problems may mean that public policy does not address the bigger picture. For example, there is undoubtedly a problem of few or no qualifications amongst school leavers. However, there are also hundreds of school leavers with excellent qualifications, who may well leave the area if there are not suitable jobs for them.

It is crucial to stress that highlighting the positive features does not cancel out or offset the E R problems, or somehow make socio-economic disadvantage more acceptable. They do not. The E H E

problems of poverty and social exclusion remain and the need to address them is as pressing B O T

as ever. D O O G N O I

This paper T A D N U O The aim of this report is to highlight some of the positive aspects of the Heads of the Valleys. F N A V

Importantly, the paper uses objective evidence to substantiate claims about positive features of E the Heads of the Valleys. It draws on various government statistics, inspection reports and B results from independent Wales- or GB-wide competitions, and consumer feedback. 5 Heads of the Valleys Area

We hope that the material included will encourage people to rethink their ideas about the Heads of the Valleys, although it is not a marketing exercise. It should be a resource for policy makers, opinion formers, journalists and politicians.

Lastly, it is important to stress that this report is emphatically not seeking to downplay the problems of the area – they are very real and urgently need to be addressed. Indeed, we hope that it contributes to efforts to regenerate the area by highlighting the potential for development. Nor is it in any way an evaluation of the Heads of the Valleys programme or any other regeneration initiative, nor a catalogue of all the initiatives in the area.

What we hope the report does achieve is a counter-balance to the negative stereotypes of the area. In so doing, it may persuade people both within the area and elsewhere that it is not such a bad place after all.

A Note on Geography

The Heads of the Valleys programme area is not matched by any local authority or other E R E

H boundaries, which creates considerable problems gathering data. Some statistics for the E B programme area were produced by the Welsh Assembly Government as baseline data for the O T

D programme, but these are increasingly out of date and also mostly negative. The Welsh O O

G Assembly Government has produced more up to date data for the Wales Spatial Plan Heads of N O I the Valleys area, but has wider geographical coverage than the programme area. These T A D

N sources have been used where they are the only data available. Otherwise, statistics have been U O F used for Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent, both of which are wholly within the Heads of the N A V

E Valleys area. However, these two authorities only comprise a proportion of the area’s B population, and do not include those parts of the programme area in Rhondda Cynon Taf, 6 Caerphilly or Torfaen. 2Natural and built environment The environment is one of the few areas where it is generally acknowledged that the Heads of the Valleys has improved considerably in recent years, not least through the large-scale reclamation of coal tips and waste land and improvement of housing. Nevertheless, it is often not appreciated just how good the environment of the Heads of the Valleys is today.

Natural Environment

The Heads of the Valleys area is dominated by its natural environment, which accounts for 87 per cent of land-use. About 35 per cent of land is semi-natural upland habitats, e.g. heath, bracken and other grassland; about 19 per cent is improved grassland, and 17 per cent is forested. 1 The combination of natural and man-made features, geography and geology has created a striking landscape. Not only is it deemed to be top of the Rough Guide to Wales’s list of places to visit because it is ‘interesting and distinctive, 2 it has also been described by various commentators in glowing terms:

Majestic mountains, country parks, forests, waterfalls, natural and man-made lakes contrast with the unique built environment to produce an intriguing landscape SouthernWales.com 3

[an] amazing and diverse landscape Dan Clayton Jones, Chairman Big Lottery Fund 4

a unique, roller-coaster landscape of hills and vale VisitBritain.com 5

The Valleys of South Wales are … a special part of Wales, with unexpected E R E

beauty, their country parks and forests and their attractions. H E OpenRoads.com 6 B O T D O O The quality of the natural environment is such that there are relatively large numbers of G N O I

designated and protected sites. There are seventeen Sites of Special Scientific Interest and T A D

twelve Special Areas of Conservation in the five local authorities. In addition there are four N U O F

local nature reserves in the Heads of the Valleys programme area, two national nature N A V reserves and the northern edge of the area is part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. A E B number of protected species are found in the Heads of the Valleys, including the greater 7 crested newt, otter, bats, lapwing and marsh fritillary butterfly. Access to the Countryside

The Heads of the Valleys has superb facilities for enjoying the natural environment. As well as Dolygaer activity centre there is also the new Summit Centre in Trelewis. The most popular outdoor pursuits are cycling, walking and golf.

Cycling

Two long distance cycle routes pass through the programme area. Lon Las Cymru, the north-south Wales route, follows the Talybont Reservoir to Merthyr Tydfil then down the Taff Valley via the Taff Trail to Cardiff. The Celtic Trail East-West route between Fishguard and Chepstow passes through the programme area with a high level route running from Neath to Pontypridd.

In addition there are a number of local cycle routes, including:

• BMX track and pump track at Parc Bryn Bach, Tredegar • Darran Valley Cycle Route – 7 km from Bargoed towards Fochriw via Parc Cwm Darran • Aberbargoed to New Tredegar Cycle Route – 2 km from Aberbargoed north towards New Tredegar • Trevithick Trail – 9 km from Pentrebach to Abercynon • The Loops and Links Network

These routes will be greatly enhanced by the ‘Valleys Cycle Network’ which will provide a network of 500 miles of walking and cycling routes across the south Wales Valleys. Much of the network will be in the Heads of the Valleys area, with new routes along the Cynon, Rhymney, Sirhowy and Ebbw Valleys as well as links along the Heads of the Valleys. In addition other routes are suggested by cycling websites and magazines. 7 Cycle routes in the area have attracted many positive comments as these quotes from a cycling website 8 show:

‘wow what a ride, finished the Taff Trail from brecon to Cardiff Bay. We all stopped a few times but a good day out for all.’ Dai Llewellyn, 17th April 2007, Taff Trail guest book

‘Did Brecon to cardiff yesterday with my mate all in 1 day. We both agreed its probably the best ride we've had in ages’ Dave, 6th August 2006, Taff Trail guest book E R E H

E what a beautiful ride :) B O

T Zoot, 4th August 2006, Taff Trail Guest Book D O O G N O

I Walking T A D N U

O The Heads of the Valleys has an extensive network of public rights of way, offering both short, F N

A local walks as well as challenging mountain and moorland walks. Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau V E B Gwent together have nearly 400 km of rights of way, with further substantial networks in the 8 Cynon Valley, Rhymney Valley and northern part of Torfaen. Members of the public judged 100 percent of the rights of way in Blaenau Gwent as easy to use, with over 85 per cent being easy to use in Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil. In comparison, only 19 per cent were easy to use in Carmarthenshire.

All local authorities in the area have produced leaflets suggesting attractive local, relatively short-distance, walks based on rights of way, as has the Groundwork Links and Loops project. Local authorities and community groups offer programmes of guided walks and there is also an annual walking festival. Routes are also suggested by walking groups and websites.

Some of the rights of way in the Heads of the Valleys have been named and sign-posted as long or medium distance paths, and in addition many of the cycle routes referred to above are also suitable for walking. A selection of medium and long distance routes is shown in Table 1. It is worth noting that details about these walks are not easy to find.

Table 1 Medium Distance Footpaths

Northern Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk 12 miles Nelson to Rhymney Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk 28 miles Caerphilly to Tredegar Raven Walk 12 mile circular route above the Sirhowy and Ebbw valleys. Ebbw Valley Walk 16 miles from Wattsville to Ebbw Vale Sirhowy Valley Walk 26 miles from Newport to Mynydd Machen and Mynydd Manmoel, Tredegar The Coed Morgannwg Way 36 miles from Margam Park to Merthyr via Dare Valley Country Park The Sea to Sky Walk 16 miles from Dare Valley Country Park to Bryngarw Country Park

Gol f

The Heads of the Valleys baseline report 9 identified ten golf courses in the area serving both members and visitors, seven of which are 18 hole and three 9 hole. Almost all are upland courses, offering spectacular views, challenging sport and a warm welcome. Below are some extracts from reviews of courses in the areas published on www.golfeurope.com – an independent and

international site. E R E H E B

Merthyr Tydfil – Morlais Golf Course O T D O

Quite simply the most under-rated courses in Wales – and yet one of the cheapest to O G

play. Situated in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park, the views from the N O I T

first fairway are stunning and are a foretaste of the enjoyment to come. … there's a A D N U

genuine ruined castle, a massive quarry, a shepherd who comes out to get his sheep O F N

off the course most mornings, a fabulous clubhouse and, best of all, some of the A V E friendliest, most down-to-earth people you will ever meet on a golf course. Pure B enjoyment and it's all as cheap as chips. 9 diapers1927 Jul 23, 2004 http://www.golfeurope.com/clubs/morlais_castle/index.htm Merthyr Tydfil Cilsanws Golf Course Merthyr tydfil golf course is one of the best i have played. The views are stunning, the atmosphere welcoming, the members very helpful. It is worth a go. steve jackson Apr 22, 2004 http://www.golfeurope.com/clubs/merthyr_tydfll/#comments-leave- a-comment-link

Bargoed Golf Club Bargoed Golf Club is a challenging moorland course affected by prevailing weather conditions. It's a good test of golf and a pleasurable experience for all levels of golfer Matthew Smith wrote on: Jul 1, 1999 http://www.golfeurope.com/clubs/bargoed/index.htm

Air and Water Quality

Independent studies have shown that the overall quality of air and water in the Heads of the Valleys is well above that which might be expected. Air quality in the area is generally good: none of the area’s local authorities has found that air quality is unlikely to meet National Air Quality Strategy objectives and so no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) have been declared in the Heads of the Valleys/ 10 This contrasts with the seven authorities that have declared AQMAs in other parts of Wales. 11

The Heads of the Valleys area includes an extensive river network, much of which is of good quality according to water quality data collected by the Environment Agency. 12 The entire river network of Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly is of good or fair biological quality as is the entire network in Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly for chemical quality. 13

Accompanying this excellent water quality are efforts to improve the bio-diversity of the river environment, e.g. through introduction of new fish stocks. For this type of work in the Cynon Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council was a finalist in The Waterways Trust’s Renaissance award 2009, whilst in Merthyr Tydfil a new fish pass has been constructed to encourage salmon to make their way upstream.

Waste Disposal and Polluting Sites

The environment is also strikingly good in terms of waste and pollution, as shown in Table 2. A very much smaller proportion of the population lives within 3 km of all kinds of regulated sites E R

E than the Welsh average, with just half the proportion of people living within 3km of such sites H E

B in the Heads of the Valleys than in the City Coastal Zone. Even though the area includes several O T landfill sites (at Trecatti, Merthyr Tydfil; Silent Valley, Blaenau Gwent; and Bryn Pica, Rhondda D O O

G Cynon Taf) only a very slightly higher proportion of the wider Heads of the Valleys population N

O lives within 3km of a landfill or incinerator site than the all-Wales average (0.1 percentage I T A

D points). Most promising of all, the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘distance and risk weighted N U O

F proximity index’, which provides a measure of household proximity to all sites taking account of N A

V risk, shows the Heads of the Valleys area to have a much lower score than Wales as a whole E B and the City Coastal Zone. 10 Table 2 Proximity of Waste and Other Regulated Sites, 2008

Heads of City Coastal Wales the Valleys Zone (a) Proportion of population living within 3km 20.0 (a) 39.6 29.8 of all polluting sites (landfill, incinerator, other waste, non-waste sites subject to IPPC control, radioactive sites) and within 1km of sewage treatment works Proportion of population living within 3km 8.8 (a) 8.7 7.2 of landfill or incinerator site Distance and risk weighted proximity index 0.350 (a) 1.052 0.652 Recycling rate 2003/04 17.6 (b) n/a 17.6

Notes: (a) Spatial Plan Area (b) Programme Area Sources: Wales Spatial Plan data, Environment, South East Wales. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en except for Recycling Rate 2003/04 from Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en

Authorities in the Heads of the Valleys have performed particularly well in increasing the proportion of household waste that is recycled, so that by 2003/04 the recycling rate for the area stood at the Welsh average. Since then, recycling rates have broadly followed the Welsh trend. 14 Local authorities’ and community groups’ work to promote recycling has been recognized in a number of awards which are shown in Table 3.

Local environment

Evidence suggests that in many respects the local environment in the Heads of the Valleys is at least as good as, and is sometimes better than, the all-Wales average. Local authorities’ performance in keeping highways and other land at a good or acceptable standard of cleanliness is generally good in the Heads of the Valleys, with 99.7 per cent of highways etc being of such a standard in Torfaen as were 99 per cent in Merthyr Tydfil in 2007/08 .15 A survey by Keep Wales Tidy 16 found that town centre streets in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent had better scores on its ‘Cleanliness Index’ than the Welsh average, as did streets in Merthyr Tydfil’s high density residential areas. Merthyr Tydfil was also found to have a lower than average proportion of streets affected by graffiti, vandalism, fly-posting and weeds. Local

authorities and community groups in the Heads of the Valleys have won a wide range of E R E

awards for work to improve the local environment, as shown in Table 3. H E B O T D O

Carbon Footprint O G N O 17 I T

For a number of reasons, two local authorities in the Heads of the Valleys have the smallest A D N

carbon footprints per capita in the UK. Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent were both in the U O 18 F lowest ten authorities for carbon emissions related to transport, consumer items and food. N A V E B

11 Table 3 Selected Award Winners for Local Environmental and Waste Projects

Let’s Recycle.com Award Best Local Authority Recycling Initiative 2006 Finalists - Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC International Green Heroes Award 2008 Winner - Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Streetcare Awareness Team Tidy Wales Trophy 2008 Winner - Cwmcelyn Tenants and Residents Association, Blaenau Gwent 3rd place – Pantyscallog Boys and Girls Club, Merthyr Tydfil Keep Wales Tidy Best Clean-up Events 2004 Winner - Lime Chapel Residents Association, Blaenau Gwent Keep Wales Tidy Innovation Award 2004 Winner - ‘Fly Guys’, Blaenau Gwent Keep Wales Tidy Award for Woodland Improvement 2008 Winner - Cwmaman Woodlands Company, Cynon Valley Keep Wales Tidy Award for Community Groups 2008 Winner - Tre-Telynog Environmental Group, Aberdare Cylch Wales Recycling Awards Community Recycler of the Year 2008 Winner - TooGoodToWaste, Rhondda Cynon Taf Shortlisted - Green Horizons, Merthyr Tydfil Cylch Wales Recycling Awards Local Authority Partnership Award 2007 Runner up - Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council

Conclusion

The Heads of the Valleys has an excellent quality natural environment. Not only is air and water quality generally better than other parts of Wales and the overall risks from regulated sites generally lower, but the quality of countryside and landscape is also increasingly recognized whilst access to it, via footpaths and cycle paths, is second to none. That this environmental quality has been achieved after centuries of damage by industry and extraction is all the more remarkable.

These features are without doubt a very considerable strength of the area, which can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. They should be actively promoted. As such an

E important, and hard-won, feature of the area, R E

H environmental quality must also surely be E B

O protected. T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

12 Footnotes 1 The remaining natural land uses include semi-improved neutral grassland; amenity grass land; lakes, ponds and reservoirs and ‘other’ uses. Derived from Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 2 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5111766.stm 3 http://www.southernwales.com/en/valleys2.php 4 BBC News, ‘Amazing landscape’s lottery aid’, 27th October 2008, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7691795.stm 5 http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/destinations/wales/the-valleys-of-south-wales.aspx 6 http://www.openroads.com/south-wales-valleys.html 7 For example http://www.cycle-route.com/routes/Wales-Cycle-Routes-4.html and http://www.moredirt.co.uk/region_trails.php?id=14 8 http://www.tafftrail.org.uk/trailpage.php?guestbook 9 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 10 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 11 Welsh Air Quality Forum, Air Pollution in Wales 2007, available at: http://www.welshairquality.co.uk/index.php 12 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 13 ibid. 14 Local Government Data Unit Wales (2008) Quality of Life Indicators available at http://www.dataunitwales.gov.uk/Data.asp?cat=285 15 Local Government Data Unit Wales (2008) Local Authority Performance Indicators Data, Street Scene, 2007-08, Available at: http://dissemination.dataunitwales.gov.uk/webview/index.jsp?language=en 16 Keep Wales Tidy (2008) All Wales LEAMS report 2007-2008, Cardiff: Keep Wales Tidy 17 Including low levels of car ownership 18 Local Futures Group, Carbon Footprint Barometer 2008, Available at: http://www.localfutures.com/Standalone/LFN_Update_Barometer_November_2008/default.aspx E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

13 3Economy and employment It is for its poor economy and labour market that the Heads of the Valleys is perhaps most infamous, earning epithets such as ‘benefits blackspot’, 19 ‘poverty ridden’, 20 and worse.

The Heads of the Valleys has unquestionably suffered from decades of economic change, which have left high levels of economic inactivity and unemployment, a relatively small stock of local businesses, and relatively few high earners. But within the economy of the area, there are still success stories – two thirds of people of working age are working, it is by no means the worst paid area in Wales, and there are signs of business growth and success.

Economic activity and employment

The economic activity rate in the Heads of the Valleys is undoubtedly low, as is an equally telling statistic – the employment rate. In 2007, the total employment rate in the Heads of the Valleys area was 64 per cent, the lowest in Wales. 21 Nevertheless, this low rate means that about two-thirds of the population of working age is in employment. In September 2008 there were a total of 52,100 people in employment (full-time and part-time) in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent alone. This number of employees and self-employed counters the image that very few people in the Heads of the Valleys are working.

It is also worth looking at employment in more depth, because the picture is more complex than first appears (Table 4 gives full statistics). Most importantly, the area’s low employment rate is due largely to the high proportion of people aged 50 to retirement who are not working. The employment rate for over 50s is below the Welsh average in all Heads of the Valleys authorities, and is very substantially lower in Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent. In contrast, the area’s employment ‘problem’ had all but vanished (in mid 2008) amongst younger people. Most strikingly, the employment rate for people aged 16 - 49 in Merthyr Tydfil is in fact higher than the Welsh average, and the same is true in Rhondda Cynon Taf. In Blaenau Gwent, and to a lesser extent Caerphilly and Torfaen, the employment rate for younger people remains below average but, lower though it may be, it is worth noting that around three-quarters of this age group are nevertheless working. E R E H E B Occupational Structure O T D O

O Those people who do have jobs in the Heads of the Valleys are often characterized as being in routine G

N and manual occupations. Statistics confirm that the Heads of the Valleys area does have a slightly higher O I T

A proportion of the workforce in sales, operative and elementary occupations (Table 5). However, this is D N

U only part of the picture. More than a quarter of employees in the area have a professional, technical or O F

N managerial job. Altogether there are nearly 16,000 people in professional, technical or managerial jobs A V

E 22

B in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent alone, whose occupations range from Chief Executives to Professors to GPs to managers and senior police officers. 14 Table 4 Employment by Age Group, June 2008

Individual Local Authorities Blaenau Merthyr Caerphilly Rhondda Torfaen Wales Gwent Tydfil Cynon Taf Number of people 31,300 24,800 77,100 106,100 39,300 1,311,400 aged 16 - 49 Number of people 24,800 20,100 59,000 85,400 30,300 1,034,800 aged 16 - 49 in employment Employment Rate 74.4 81.0 76.5 80.5 77.1 78.9 age 16-49 (%) Number of people 10,400 8,900 27,300 36,400 15,000 477,100 aged 50 - retirement Number of people 6,300 5,100 14,800 22,500 9,600 320,700 aged 50 - retirement Employment Rate 60.5 57.3 54.2 61.8 64.0 67.2 age 50 - retirement (%) Source: Annual Population Survey, via NOMIS

Table 5 Occupational Structure, 2007

Percentage of employed persons in Heads of Wales Occupational Groups the Valleys Managerial, Professional and Technical Occupations 28.3 38.3 (groups 1 to 3) Administrative, Skilled Trades and Personal Service 35.2 32.6 (groups 4 to 6) Sales and customer service, process, plant and 36.6 29.1 machine operatives and elementary occupations (groups 7 to 9)

Notes: a) Spatial Plan area Sources: Wales Spatial Plan data, Economy and Labour Market, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en E R E H E Pay and income B O T D O

Accompanying the Heads of the Valleys’ reputation for worklessness is its reputation for poverty. It is true O G

that the area has both a lower average income per head than other parts of Wales, partly because of the N O I T higher proportion of people receiving out-of-work benefits such as Incapacity Benefit but also because the A D N earnings of those who are in employment are typically lower than the Wales median (Table 6). U O F

But, as before, it is important to qualify these findings. First, although earnings are below the Welsh N A V E average, residents of the heads of the valleys are by no means the lowest paid in Wales. Table 6 shows B that just over 30 per cent of employees in Blaenau Gwent and 26 per cent in Merthyr Tydfil earned less 15 than £7 an hour, but in Pembrokeshire the proportion is nearly 40 per cent and in Denbighshire nearly 35 per cent. 23 Second, figures on average or median earnings hide the proportion of Heads of the Valleys employees with relatively high incomes. Contrary to the picture of poverty painted by commentators, more than a quarter of all full time workers in the Heads of the Valleys enjoyed a relatively comfortable salary of over £28,000 a year in 2008. Taken with relatively lower housing costs in the area, this suggests that at least some people in the Heads of the Valleys enjoy a reasonably prosperous lifestyle.

Indeed, the earnings of Heads of the Valleys residents amount, collectively, to a considerable sum. If the mean income for full timers in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent is multiplied by the number of full time workers in the two areas, there is a total of approximately £800 million a year being earned in the area by full timers in these two authorities alone (see Table 2). The figure would be even higher if the incomes of residents in the Heads of the Valleys part of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Caerphilly and Torfaen were added, along with the earnings of part timers.

Table 6 Earnings, 2008

Blaenau Merthyr Heads of the Wales (a) Gwent (a) Tydfil (a) Valleys (b) Median gross weekly earnings of full £362.2 £418.1 £377 £425.3 time employees (2008) Proportion of all employees earning less 30% 26% n/a n/a than £7 per hour (2006-2008) Gross weekly earnings of upper quartile £526.4 £587.7 £544 £600 (level which 25% earn more than) 2008 Mean gross weekly earnings full time £428.4 £474.6 £460 £506.7 employees incl. overtime 2008 Number of full time jobs 18,000 16,000 n/a n/a Total income from earnings £400m £395m n/a n/a

Notes: all data is residence based Sources: (a) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2008 via Nomis (b): Wales Spatial Plan data, Economy and Labour Market, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en (c) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2006-8 via http://www.poverty.org.uk/w53/index.shtml?3

Businesses and enterprise

Despite many high profile business closures over recent years, a substantial number of businesses

E continue to be based in the Heads of the Valleys. In 2008, there were more than 4,000 businesses in the R E

H wider Heads of the Valleys area, covering a range of different activities from food and clothing E B manufacturers, to engineering businesses and call centres, retailing and restaurants. Indeed, services O T

D were the largest businesses in terms of both numbers of establishments (79 per cent of businesses) and O

O 24

G the proportion of employment (60 per cent of jobs). N O I T A

D Small businesses are important in the Heads of the Valleys as elsewhere - just under two thirds of N U O

F businesses in the wider area had fewer than 9 employees, and a further fifth were medium sized N

A businesses (with 10 – 249 employees). The share of jobs provided by small firms was very much smaller: V E B business with fewer than 9 employees accounted for just 7,600 jobs (16.3 per cent of the total), whilst 16 large firms were the most important, accounting for 21,540 jobs – nearly half (46.1 per cent) of all employment. The Heads of the Valleys has a reputation for lacking an enterprise culture. This perception is, partly, supported by statistics on the number of businesses per head of population, which is amongst the lowest in the UK, and by the area’s poor showing on indicators of general competitiveness (which include measures such as educational attainment). 25 However evidence on recent business performance suggests this is changing.

A composite enterprise index 26 that combines the new business formation rate, the overall change in the stock of businesses over the last 10 years and business survival rates, compiled for all local authority areas in the UK in 2006, shows that Merthyr Tydfil was the best performing local authority in Wales, and amongst the top performing 20 percent of areas in England and Wales.

This conclusion is reinforced by data on the number of businesses registering for VAT. Over the period 1998-2007 the number of VAT registered businesses increased by 21 per cent, twice the rate of increase in Wales as a whole. Altogether 2,370 businesses were newly registered for VAT during 1994- 2007. 27

Business Performance

The perception of the Heads of the Valleys as an area of low value and poor business performance is also challenged by the record of a number of businesses which have won awards for various aspects of their business. Table 7 sets out a selection of awards won by Heads of the Valleys businesses in recent years (environmental awards are shown separately) Only awards given in all Wales or GB-wide competitions are included here (local and Heads of the Valleys-wide awards have not been included) demonstrating that Heads of the Valleys businesses can win against the strongest competition.

Heads of the Valleys businesses have also performed well on various aspects of environmental management and sustainability, with a strong showing from Heads of the Valleys employers in the various Wales Sustainability Awards (formerly Wales Environment Awards) over the years, as shown in Table 8.

Table 7 Selected Business Awards

Impress Merthyr Tydfil 2008 - Winner five star Health and Safety Audit Award 2007 - Winner British Safety Council Sword of Honour for Excellence in Health and Safety Tectonic International Winner - Welsh Exporter of the Year Award Winner - Welsh Award for Export Achievement E R

Winner - Made for Growth Business Award. E H E

Royvon Dog Training School, Merthyr Tydfil B O 2005 - Short listed for Wales Information Communications Technology award. T D O

2005 - Co-finalist Technology Wales O 2005 - (TWO5) Information Communications Technology “Entrepreneur of the G N O I

Year” award. T A D

2005 - Second Place in Sunday Times Enterprise Network Award for Best End- N U O to-End Integrated Business and Best Customer Care on Line F N A

2007 - Short listed for two Technology for Marketing Awards, short listed for V E Judges Special Award for Best Integrated Marketing Technology B Campaign, and Winner of Best Use of CRM Solution for SMEs 17 Table 7 Selected Business Awards ( continued )

Stephens & George, Merthyr Tydfil 2008 - Business Magazine Printer of the year Highly Commended The Fresh Pasta Company, Merthyr Tydfil 2008 - Winner of four of the Guild of Fine Foods Gold Star Great Taste Awards for its products Rhymney Brewery, Merthyr Tydfil 2008/09 - True Taste of Wales Awards for Pie and a Pint, Export Ale and Reserve Winner 2007 - Champion Beer of Wales Winner 2008 - Camra Bronze Award Mild Ale Category 2008 - Camra Gold Award Strong Ale Category 2008 - Labologist’s Society Annual Competition 1st Place for Commemorative Label of the Year for Hobby Horse; 2007 - Labologist’s Society Annual Competition 1st Place for Commemorative Label of the Year for Bevan’s Bitter 2008 - All Wales Open Bottle Competition Bronze Winner for Hobby Horse 2006 - Waitrose Small Producer of the Year Robert Bates, Clarks Shoes Merthyr Tydfil 2005 - Franchisee of the Year Awards Highly Commended J&S Seddon Painting, Merthyr Tydfil 2008 - Special Award for Excellence by the Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) Penn Pharma 2008 - Insider Venture Capital Dealmaker Award Blaenavon Cheddar Company, Blaenavon 2008 - Winner of Bronze Medal at the British cheese awards for its Pwll Mawr cheddar.

Table 8 Wales Environment / Sustainability Awards

Doncasters Blaenavon 2007 - Climate change and energy award winner Penn Pharmaceutical Services 2006 - Overall Winner, Wales Environment Awards 2005 - Environmental Management System Award for companies with 50 employees or more finalist Visqueen Building Products Ltd, Rhymney 2005 - Waste Minimisation Best Practice Award for companies with fewer than 50 E

R employees finalist E H

E 2004 - Environmental Management System Award for companies with 50 employees B

O or more finalist T D

O Excel Industries Ltd, Ebbw Vale O G 2004 - Award for Most Improved Export Performance for an Environment Product or N O I

T Service finalist A D N

U Biozyme Laboratories Ltd, Blaenavon O F

N 2004 - Business and Biodiversity Award finalist A V E B

18 Conclusion

There is no doubt that there are acute economic and labour market problems in the Heads of the Valleys, and it has not been the intention of this section to argue otherwise. But, it is also important that these problems do not overshadow the many very positive features of the Heads of the Valleys economy and labour market. This section has demonstrated that there is a small but vibrant business community that has excelled against national competition, with small but significant new business starts. There is a substantial workforce, which includes professionals and managerial staff as well as skilled trades people, some of whom earn reasonable salaries, generating a considerable disposable income.

It is vitally important that these success stories are not ignored, for they contain the seeds of future growth and resources for the future.

Footnotes 19 Abby Alford, Valleys town is top benefits blackspot, Western Mail, April 21st 2008 20 Martin Shipton, ‘ Years of grant aid – but the Valleys still poverty ridden ’ South Wales Echo, August 19th 2008 21 Wales Spatial Plan Economy and Labour Market Summary, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en 22 Annual Population Survey data, via NOMIS 23 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2006-2008 published on http://www.poverty.org.uk/w53/index.shtml?3 24 Wales Spatial Plan data, Economy and Labour Market, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en 25 uggins, R. and Izushi, I. (2008) UK Competitiveness Index, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Centre for International Competitiveness 26 Local Futures, State of the Nation 2006: Business and Enterprise, Available at: http://www.localfutures.com/Assets/1596/enterprise%20barometer.pdf 27 VAT registration data, via NOMIS, for Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent. E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

19 4Learning and skills As in previous sections, at first sight the Heads of the Valleys has levels of qualifications in the workforce and educational attainment amongst school leavers that are below those of the rest of Wales. However, it is important to stress that the statistics show that only a proportion of the population have few or no qualifications – they do not say that everyone is unqualified.

Qualifications

The figures on qualifications held by the wider population and achieved by school leavers do not make for good news, in either the Heads of the Valleys or Wales as a whole. Nevertheless, as Table 9 shows, a proportion of its population does have good qualifications. In 2007 more than 1 in 3 of the population were qualified at NVQ level 3 or above and more than 1 in 6 were qualified to NVQ level 4 or above. 28

Similarly, although it is important not to deny that the percentage of school pupils in wider Heads of the Valleys area achieving core subject indicators is below the rate for Wales as a whole at all key stages, there is, nevertheless, a substantial proportion which does achieve these standards. Three-quarters of pupils achieved the core indicators at Key Stage 1 (end of year 2), more than two-thirds did so at Key Stage 2 (end year 6), and just over half achieved them at Key Stage 3 (end year 9). 29

At post-16 level, more than seven out of ten year 11 pupils in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent continue in full-time education. In addition, a very high proportion goes on to work based learning, the highest proportion in Wales. At year 13, more than half of leavers in these two authorities went on to higher education. Although this is below the all-Wales proportion, it nevertheless meant that there were 312 school pupils from these two authorities alone entering higher education in 2008. 30 Altogether there were more than 3,500 undergraduates and postgraduates from Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent studying at UK higher education establishments in 2006/07. 31 This number of post-16 learners is an extremely important resource for the future, whose potential should be maximized.

Schools E R E Many schools in the Heads of the Valleys have a reputation for poor quality, which, as will be shown H E

B below, is undeserved. Using a broad range of indicators, schools in the Heads of the Valleys emerge as at O T least as good as, and in some ways better than, schools elsewhere in south east Wales. D O O G N O I Quality of education T A D N U

O Inspections provide a very useful insight into the quality of education in Heads of the Valleys schools. F

N 32

A Recent inspection reports give each school a grade on each of seven ‘key questions’ which cover the V E

B crucial issues of how well learners achieve and how effective are teaching, training and assessment. The questions also cover how well the learning experience meets the needs and interests of learners and the 20 wider community, the effectiveness of leadership and management, learner support and guidance, use of Table 9 Selected Indicators of Education and Qualifications

Heads of the Blaenau Merthyr Wales Valleys Gwent Tydfil Proportion of the population with 35.9% 33.0% 47.1% qualifications at NVQ level 3 or above (2007) (a) Proportion of the population with 16.7% 17.9% 27.2% qualifications at NVQ level 4 or above (2007) (a) Proportion achieving core indicators (2007/08) at: (b) Key Stage 1 75.5 80.7 Key Stage 2 70.6 75.5 Key Stage 3 51.0 59.6 Key Stage 4 33.3 44.4 Destination of Year 11 school leavers (2008) (c) Continuing in full time 75.5% 73.0% 79.2% education (school and college) Entering Work-based learning 9.2% 11.7% 6.7% Proportion of Year 13 school leavers 60.1% 55.1% 79.7 continuing in higher education (2008) (d) Enrolments on higher education 20006/7 (full-time and part-time): Undergraduate 1,485 1,625 88,210 Postgraduate 245 235 18,465

Sources: a) Stats Wales Table 003357 Qualification levels of working age adults by NQF level, local authority and NUTS2 area (b) Wales Spatial Plan data, Education, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial- plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en (c) Careers Wales (2008) Destination of School Leavers at Year Eleven by LEA, available at http://www.careerswales.com/professionals/documentlibrary.asp?language=English (d) Careers Wales (2008) Destination of School Leavers at Year Thirteen by LEA, available at http://www.careerswales.com/professionals/documentlibrary.asp?language=English

resources and arrangements for improving quality.

The grades awarded are as follows: E R E

Grade 1 good with outstanding features H E Grade 2 good features and no important shortcomings B O T

Grade 3 good features outweigh shortcomings D O O

Grade 4 some good features, but shortcomings in important areas G N O

Grade 5 many important shortcomings I T A D N U O

Altogether there are 17 secondary schools in the Heads of the Valleys programme area which have had F N recent inspection reports (a list of the schools included is at Annex A). The findings from inspections A V E suggest that more schools in the Heads of the Valleys are good with outstanding features or good with B no important shortcomings on the key questions of learner achievement and the effectiveness of 21 teaching than in Cardiff or Newport. Table 10 shows that 12 Heads of the Valleys schools received a grade 1 or 2 on the key question of ‘how well do learners achieve?’, compared with only six out of thirteen schools in Cardiff and just one out of five schools in Newport. On the question of the effectiveness of teaching, 15 out of 17 Heads of the Valleys schools received a grade 1 or 2, compared with 11 out of 13 in Cardiff and one out of five in Newport.

One school (Treorchy Comprehensive) received a grade one on every single key question, the same as Cardiff High School and St Joseph’s R.C. High School in Newport. At the other end of the scale, no schools in the Heads of the Valleys programme area received a grade 4 (‘some good features but shortcomings in important areas’) on any of the key questions. Both Cardiff and Newport had one school which received a grade 4 on one or more key questions.

Table 10 School Inspection grades

Percentage of employed persons in Heads of Cardiff Newport Occupational Groups the Valleys Number of schools* 17 13 5 Number achieving grade 1 or 2 on how well 12 6 1 learners achieve Number achieving grade 1 or 2 on how effective 14 11 1 are teaching, training and assessment Number achieving a grade 1 on all key questions 1 1 1 Number of schools with 4 on any key question 0 1 1

* For which an inspection report is available which summarises findings in this format

Unauthorised Absence

Unauthorised absence at all levels of education is an important issue. Primary schools in the wider Heads of the Valleys have very slightly lower levels of unauthorized absence than those in the city coastal zone. 33 However the figures for individual local authorities are even better: the absence rates for Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent were both substantially lower than Cardiff and Newport. 34 The same pattern is evident at secondary level, with the difference between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff being particularly striking. 35

Table 11 Unauthorized Absence Rates, 2008

Heads of Blaenau Merthyr City Coastal Cardiff Newport Wales the Valleys Gwent Tydfil Zone (2006/07) (2007/08) (2007/08) (2006/07) (2007/08) 2007/08) (2006/07) E R E H Primary School 1.4 0.6 1.0 1.5 1.7 1.4 0.9 E B unauthorized O T

D absence rates O O G Secondary school 2.4 2.2 1.8 2.5 3.3 2.0 1.9 N O I unauthorized T A

D absence rates N U O F N

A Sources: V

E Welsh Assembly Government (2009) Absenteeism from Primary Schools 2007/08, SDR 21/2009 Available at: B http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2009/090217sdr212009en.pdf?lang=en 22 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Absenteeism from Secondary Schools 2007/08, SDR 170/2008 Available at: http://new.wales.gov.uk/statsdocs/schools/sdr170-2008.pdf Awards and Accolades

The achievements of schools, colleges and other bodies providing training have been recognized in a number of awards which are shown in Table 12. These are all Wales-wide or GB-wide awards, which provide independent recognition of the contribution of learning establishments in the Heads of the Valleys. Personal achievements e.g. of students are not included here.

Table 12 Selected Awards for Education and Learning

Caedraw Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil ICT Excellence Awards 2007 - Inclusion (primary) - Runner-up Pontlottyn Primary School, Mrs. Karen Wathan BT Award for Teacher of the Year in a Primary School 2008 - Distinction Blaenau Gwent CBC Educational Psychologist Michelle Mansell 2009 Incredible Years Awards for excellence Blainau library adult literacy group NIACE award for ‘coaching and mentoring’ 2009 Merthyr Tydfil College Wales Training Award 2008 Winner Fforwm Equality and Diversity Award Winner 2006 Runner Up, Fforwm Innovation Award 2006 Runner Up, Plugging Skills Gap in Industry Award 2007 Runner Up, Effective Partnership Working Award 2008 Winner, Engineering Week Wales Challenge 2007

Blaenau Gwent CBC Family Learning Programmes E R E

Inspire Adult Tutor and Mentor Awards Basic Skills Agency Award H E B

Goetre Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil Mrs Denise Morgan O T

Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award, 2009 D O O G N O I T A D N

Helping People into Jobs U O F N A

Last but by no means least is the question of the transition to work. Despite a challenging labour market, V E organisations in the Heads of the Valleys have won a number of awards for helping people from the area B into jobs. Table 13 sets out some of the awards won by organizations in the Heads of the Valleys 23 recently. Table 13 Awards for Helping People into Jobs

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Youth Supported Employment Project Association for public service excellence 2008 Best service team award - finalists Social Care Accolade Learning about Caring, Caring about Learning Award 2007 - winner Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC Step in the Right Direction Project Wales Training Award 2008 – Winner Social Care Accolade 2007 – Winner North Glamorgan NHS Trust Remploy National Leading the Way Award 2006 for supporting people with disabilities Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind (MTIB) Local Employment Partnership Awards 2008 Accolade for ‘Partnership Works’ – Winner Local Employment Partnership Awards 2008 Getting Back to Work award – runner up.

Conclusion

Despite the challenges, it is clear that there are considerable skills and talents in the population of the Heads of the Valleys. There is a small but important pool of people with higher level qualifications already living in the area. Each year, hundreds of school pupils achieve good GCSE grades and stay on in education or move into work based learning. Each year, hundreds of pupils leave school and go on to higher education, in Wales and elsewhere, and more than three thousand undergraduates and post graduates have Merthyr or Blaenau Gwent as their home. Making the most of the skills people do have, as well as tackling the problems of lack of qualifications, should be a high priority.

At school level, increasing proportions of school pupils are achieving core indicators at each Key Stage. Crucially, inspection reports reveal that many Heads of the Valleys secondary schools are ‘good’ in terms of achievement and the effectiveness of learning, and that there no schools with important shortcomings. Indeed, in terms of Estyn’s findings, schools in the area compare favourably with those in Cardiff and Newport. Given the challenges that Heads of the Valleys schools face, this is a considerable achievement.

Footnotes 28 Stats Wales Table 003357 Qualification levels of working age adults by NQF level, local authority and NUTS2 area

E 29 Wales Spatial Plan data, Education, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: R E

H http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatial-plan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en E B 30 Careers Wales Pupil Destinations 2008 year 13 LEA figures available at: O T

D http://www.careerswales.com/professionals/documentlibrary.asp?language=English O O

G 31 Stats Wales Table 002383 Enrolments of Welsh domiciled students at UK Higher Education Institutes by level and

N mode of study http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=2383 O I T

A 32 Inspection reports before 2004 do not specifically award grades to each key question. D N

U 33 Wales Spatial Plan data, Education, Heads of the Valleys. Available at: O F

N http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatialplan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en A V

E 34 Welsh Assembly Government (2009) Absenteeism from Primary Schools 2007/08, SDR 21/2009 Available at: B http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2009/090217sdr212009en.pdf?lang=en 24 35 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Absenteeism from Secondary Schools 2007/08, SDR 170/2008 Available at: http://new.wales.gov.uk/statsdocs/schools/sdr170-2008.pdf 5Health and health care Introduction

The Heads of the Valleys has a reputation for the poor health of its residents, being described as ‘the sickness capital’ of Wales, 36 the ‘sickest place in Britain’, 37 ‘top of the poorly table’, ‘Europe’s sick relation’ 38 and many others. Whilst in some ways the general health of the population of the Heads of the Valleys is poorer than that of other parts of Wales, this is not to say that everyone is ill. Moreover, the health and social care services emerge as being at least as good, if not better, than those in several other parts of Wales.

General Health and Lifestyle

There is no doubt that the Heads of the Valleys has higher levels of ill health than the all-Wales average, both in terms of general health and in terms of the prevalence of particular conditions. But it is worth looking at the picture more carefully and critically. Although the figures on ill health are relatively higher in the Heads of the Valleys than elsewhere, they do not mean that everyone in area is sick. So, whilst 32 per cent of the population in Blaenau Gwent report having a limiting long term illness, 39 by far the majority of the population – 68 per cent – does not have such an illness. Similarly, around 80 per cent of the population in the Heads of the Valleys do not have high blood pressure, 90 per cent do not have a heart condition, and so on. This change in emphasis to health, rather than illness, is vitally important to the perception of the area.

Given the prevalence of poor health, there have been a number of health improvement initiatives over the years. Participation in physical activity in the area has been well below the norm for other parts of Wales. 40 However, the Welsh Health Survey for 2005/07 indicates that the proportion of adults who report meeting physical activity guidelines is slightly above the Welsh figure in Merthyr Tydfil (at 32 per cent compared with 30 per cent) and is barely below it in Blaenau Gwent (at 29 per cent). Indeed a smaller proportion of adults meet the recommended guidelines in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea than in Merthyr. E R E

Local authorities and others have won awards for their efforts to encourage physical activity in these H E areas, as shown in Table 14. B O T D O O G N O I

Health and Social Care T A D N U

At the time that the Heads of the Valleys Programme was launched, there was 1 district general hospital O F

41 N located in the area, several other community hospitals and a number of GP practices. The figures have A V E changed slightly since 2004 with changes in the provision of both primary and secondary care. B 25 Some commentators have highlighted the challenges faced by health care providers in the Heads of the Table 14 Awards for Physical Activity Promotion

Merthyr Tydfil 'Heartlinks' project British Heart Foundation UK Excellence Award 2007, Winner World Best Practice example for Promoting Physical Activity National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare (Wales) prize Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Leisure Services Division The Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM) Award 2006 Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council ‘Green Gym’ project Winner of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers award

Valleys, and point to some aspects of services that are below average. However, whilst primary and secondary care clearly has to meet the needs of the local population and some services may have not been the very best, this is not to say that all services at all times are poor.

Primary care

Primary care in the Heads of the Valleys has attracted particular concern, for example because of the age of General Practitioners in the area and the proportion of single-handed practices. 42 However, there are many other ways in which primary care in the area is at least as good as the Welsh average, and is sometimes better.

First of all, the Heads of the Valleys area appears to have a slightly higher number of GPs in relation to its population – 6.3 whole time equivalents per 10,000 people compared with 6.1 for Wales as a whole. 43 This is reflected in the average list size per GP in local authorities in the area, which is around the same as the national average in Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly, and below average In Torfaen. 44

Second, it also appears that quality of primary care services is broadly comparable with those elsewhere in Wales. The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) provides a crude measure of quality of care, although it is a system of financial incentives which rewards good practice. 45 The proportion of GP practices which achieved 950 points or more in the 2007/08 Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) was around the Welsh average across most of the Heads of the Valleys. In total, nine practices in Merthyr Tydfil, fifteen practices in Blaenau Gwent, eight in the part of Caerphilly which lies in the Heads of the Valleys programme area and two in the part of Torfaen in the Heads of the Valleys area achieved 950 points or more. 46 Unfortunately fewer achieved this threshold in the Heads of the Valleys part of Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The number of QOF points received by a practice in part reflects local circumstances, such as the social and demographic characteristics of the population, so the achievement of over 950 points by so many practices is particularly noteworthy. The figures are summarized in Table 15. E R E H NHS dental services in the Heads of the Valleys have received much less attention, yet are an important E B

O component of overall health. A higher proportion of patients across the Wales Spatial Plan Heads of the T

D Valleys area reported that they had been treated by an NHS dentist in the last 24 months (59 per cent O

O 47 48 G compared with 54 per cent). Data for individual local authority areas for adults shows similar results. N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

26 Table 15 Statistics on Primary Care

Heads of the Valleys Programme Area Blaenau Merthyr Caerphilly Rhondda Torfaen Wales Gwent Tydfil (part) Cynon Taf (part (part) Number of GP 15 9 8 6 2 417 practices achieving 950 points or more 2007/08 (a) Number of GP 17 13 9 15 2 490 practices 2007/08 (a)

Individual Local Authority Area Blaenau Merthyr Caerphilly Rhondda Torfaen Wales Gwent Tydfil Cynon Taf Average GP list 2007 1,590 1,608 1,525 1,819 1,487 1,598 (b) Number of dentists 43 34 77 97 57 n/a Percentage of adults 62.2 54.9 59.4 63.6 50.0 52.5 treated by a NHS dentist (c)

Source: (a) Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Total Points Achieved by Practice and Domain (Quality and Outcomes Framework) Stats Wales Table 004113 http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk/ReportFolders/reportfolders.aspx?IF_ActivePath=P,280,1045,2130 (b) Welsh Assembly Government (200) Health Statistics Wales Update, Family Health Services: Table 5.3 http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/publications/hsw2009/?lang=en (c) Health Statistics Wales Update, Chapter 5 Family Health Services: Table 5.8 http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/publications/hsw2009/?lang=en

Secondary care

Secondary care in the Heads of the Valleys is provided by three district general hospitals, only one of which (Prince Charles Hospital) is in the programme area, and a number of community hospitals in the area which provide rehabilitation, outpatient and other services. It is covered by two NHS trusts (Cwm Taf and Gwent) and five local health boards (Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Torfaen). E R E H E

Almost all data on secondary care is published for the relevant NHS trust rather than individual hospitals, B O and so it is difficult to identify information specific to the Heads of the Valleys. However some data is also T D O published for local health board areas which provide a useful alternative. O G N O I T

Overall, data suggests that fewer patients in the Heads of the Valleys wait for a first outpatient A D N appointment or for inpatient treatment than elsewhere in Wales (Table 16). A lower proportion of patients U O F waiting for a first out patient appointment waited more than 13 weeks in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda N A V E

Cynon Taf than the Welsh average. Similarly, a lower proportion of patients waited more than 13 weeks B for in-patient or day-case treatment in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Caerphilly and Torfaen than the Welsh 27 average. Even where the proportion of patients waiting for more than 13 weeks exceeded the Welsh average, the figures were sometimes lower than in local health board areas elsewhere. For example, 23.0 per cent of Blaenau Gwent patients waited more than 13 weeks for in-patient treatment but 26.7 per cent of Swansea patients waited this time.

Table 16 Selected Secondary Care Statistics

Individual Local Health Boards Blaenau Merthyr Caerphilly Rhondda Torfaen Wales Gwent Tydfil Cynon Taf Proportion of all 18.4 14.3 17.8 12.6 18.5 16.7 patients waiting more than 13 weeks for an outpatient appointment (a) Proportion of all 23.6 23.0 20.5 20.1 21.0 21.4 patients waiting more than 13 weeks for inpatient or day- case treatment (b)

Source: (a) Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Health Statistics Wales Update 2008 Waiting Lists and Waiting Times: Table 6.2 (b) ibid Table 6.3

NHS bodies are inspected by Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW). HIW assesses NHS trusts’ progress in delivering each of 32 Welsh Assembly Government health care standards. Performance on each standard is assessed against five levels of maturity, which are: • aware • responding • developing • practising and • leading.

In 2007/08, HIW reviewed the then North Glamorgan NHS Trust (which included Prince Charles Hospital as well as three community hospitals) and found that the Trust was at ‘developing’ level (i.e. the mid point) for 27 of the 32 health care standards. This conclusion puts the Trust amongst the better performing of the trusts in existence at that time. Significantly, North Glamorgan Trust was assessed as being at ‘developing’ level or above against more standards than Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust or the former Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust. E R E H E

B Heads of the Valleys hospitals perform relatively well in terms of hospital acquired infections such as O T MRSA and E. Coli. Although all infections are regrettable, Table 17 shows that show that Cwm Taf NHS D O

O Trust (which includes Prince Charles Hospital and community hospitals in the Heads of the Valleys as G

N well as some hospitals outside the Heads of the Valleys area) has amongst the lowest infection rates in O I T A

D Wales for the most common blood stream infections. N U O F N

A Hospitals in the Heads of the Valleys also performed relatively well in recent unannounced spot checks V E

B on cleanliness. HIW’s visit to Prince Charles Hospital and Aberdare Hospital found that ‘generally all wards visited were found to be of an acceptable level of cleanliness.’ 49 They found staff knowledge and 28 practice of infection prevention and control was ‘acceptable’ and that good hand hygiene was ‘well pro - Table 17 Infection Rates for Common Blood Stream Infections (Rate per 100,000 bed days) Organism Cwm Hywel Cardiff & North All Wales Taf Dda Vale Wales

Escherichia coli (E.coli) 35 56 36 51 44 Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) 13 18 19 17 17 Enterococcus species 9 12 14 9 12 Klebsiella species 8 12 13 10 11 Streptococcus pneumoniae 8 14 9 13 11 Coagulase negative Staphylococcus 8 8 16 6 9 Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 8 6 12 8 9 Serratia species 4 n.a. 4 n.a. n.a. Pseudomonas aeruginosa 4 n.a. 5 4 4 Enterobacter species 3 5 6 4 4

Source: Individual NHS Trust Infection reports and All Wales report, Top 10 Blood Stream Infections, available at: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgId=379&pid=23913 moted’ throughout the Trust. One ward in Aberdare Hospital was singled out for being ‘exceptionally clean and tidy’.

The good performance of health care providers in the area has been recognized in numerous awards, which cover a range of care settings and different specialities, some of which are given in Table 18.

Table 18 Health Care Awards

Lundbeck Award for Best Practice in Depression 2003, UK winner Won by Seymour Berry Centre, Merthyr Tydfil UNICEF Baby Friendly Awards Awarded to Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil Queens Nursing Institute Awards, UK 2001 Won by Gwent NHS Trust for Innovative and Creative Practice at Tyleri Court, Abertillery E R E

British Journal of Midwifery Innovator of the Year 2006 H E

Won by Lynn Lynch, Consultant Midwife, former North Glamorgan NHS Trust B O T

Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health Award, 2006 D O O

Won by St Tydfil’s Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil for use of complementary therapies in care G N O I

Health Service Journal Award T A D

Won by North Glamorgan Trust for innovations in services, 2005 N U O F N A V E B

29 Social Care

Local authorities and voluntary organizations in the Heads of the Valleys generally appear to perform well in the provision of social care, although performance varies from authority to authority and also varies by type of service.

The most comprehensive assessments of local authority social services are ‘joint reviews’ undertaken by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) and the Wales Audit Office. The two recent joint reviews of authorities in the Heads of the Valleys found that, overall, Merthyr Tydfil’s social services were ‘mainly good’, and ‘generally provide good care and help to keep people safe’, 50 whilst Rhondda Cynon Taf social services were ‘well placed to sustain and improve services’, although the review did conclude that the services themselves were inconsistent. 51

Recent ‘evaluations of performance’ have found considerable improvement in services in recent years, with CSSIW commenting on authorities as follows:

Merthyr Tydfil: there are ‘signs of signs of improvement in critical service areas’ and that ‘a range of modernisation initiatives’ had been instigated. 52

Rhondda Cynon Taf: ‘the authority is undertaking a wide range of ambitious and innovative work to modernise services’ and highlighted a number of strengths and achievements. 53

Blaenau Gwent: ‘worked hard to improve its performance and has continued to make steady progress’. 54

Torfaen: ‘worked hard to improve its performance and has continued to make steady progress on the improvements gained last year’. 55

A performance evaluation report in respect of Caerphilly County Borough Council had not been published at the time of writing.

Services for children are particularly high profile. An inspections of children’s services in Blaenau Gwent in 2006 56 (after an admittedly negative earlier inspection) found that the authority had shown steady

Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N N A A V M E R O B N A K E N A

30 D : O T O H P Table 19 Selected Indicators of Social Care Performance

Individual Local Authorities Blaenau Merthyr Caerphilly Rhondda Torfaen Wales Gwent Tydfil Cynon Taf Percentage of 100 93 99 93 75 93 referrals of children on which a decision is made in 1 working day (a) The percentage of 100 92 99 96 100 92 first placements of looked after children that began with a care plan in place (b) Percentage of core 83 87 68 41 75 55 assessments completed in 35 working days (a) Percentage of pupils 68 94 41 34 38 52 with a personal educational plan in place within 20 days of entering care (a)

Source: (a) Local Government Data Unit Wales, Local Authority Performance 2007-08, available at: http://dissemination.dataunitwales.gov.uk/webview/index.jsp (b) Social Services Statistics 2007/08, Appendix 2 Local Authority Profiles available at: http://dissemination.dataunitwales.gov.uk/webview/index.jsp

improvement and made ‘significant progress’. It concluded that access to services and arrangements to protect vulnerable people were mainly good, although the overall assessment was that services were inconsistent. An inspection of services for disabled children in Merthyr Tydfil in 200 3 57 found that ‘the authority is serving some people well’.

More recent indicators of social care performance suggest that Heads of the Valleys local authorities are frequently amongst the best performers in Wales, although there are some exceptions. Table 19 gives some key indicators. E

Services for adults receive less attention than those for children but indicators for Heads of the R E H

Valleys authorities suggest they are performing reasonably well across a range of key measures. E B

For example, Blaenau Gwent and Rhondda Cynon Taf are in top 3 performing local authorities in O T D

Wales in terms of time taken from initial inquiry to completion of a care plan, with Merthyr Tydfil O O at the mid-point. These three authorities are also in the better performing 50 per cent of G N O I

authorities for reviewing adults’ care plans. Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent both achieved 100 T A D

per cent in the proportion of carers offered an assessment of their needs, well above the all- N U O Wales rate of 79 per cent. 58 F N A V E The good performance of local authorities and voluntary bodies in delivering social care is B reflected in the various awards and accolades that have been won in recent years, some of which 31 are described in Table 20. Table 20 Social Care Awards

Care Council Social Care Accolades 2007 - Offering Opportunity, Changing Changes Award Won by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council Care Council Social Care Accolades 2007 - Investing in the Workforce Award Won by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council - RCT Student Learning and Development Service Care Council Social Care Accolades 2007 - Learning Together Award Won by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council - Traineeship Scheme Care Council Social Care Accolades 2005 - Innovative training and development Award Won by Caerphilly County Borough Council, Family Placement Team Developing Positive Relationships Project Care Council Social Care Accolades 2005 - Improving equal opportunities and inclusivity Award Won by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council - Night Assessor, NVQ Team Care Council Social Care Accolades 2005 - Service user participation Award Won by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council - Joint Recycling Project Wales Care Awards 2008 - Award for management and Leadership in residential care Silver, Alyson Williams, Bargoed House, Merthyr Tydfil Wales Care Awards 2008 - Award for Excellence in dementia care and mental health Gold, Beatrix Coetzee, Greenhill Manor, Merthyr Tydfil Wales Care Awards 2008 - Award for Newcomer Gold, Joanne Johnson, White Rose Care Centre, New Tredegar Wales Care Awards 2008 – Overall Gold Award Alyson Williams, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Glaxo Smith Cline GSK Impact Award for 2005 Hospice of the Valleys

Conclusion

Despite the acknowledged problems of ill health in the Heads of the Valleys community, it is clear that health and social care services are at least as good as those elsewhere in Wales. In terms of primary care, there are more GPs and dentists per head of population and the quality of services provided by many GP practices appears to be generally acceptable. Secondary care performs well on a range of criteria, including overall performance, aspects of waiting items, cleanliness and infection control. Social care, too, is improving and on some measures is leading the way in Wales. Whilst of course there are some E

R areas for improvement, there is little evidence of consistently poor services across the area as some seem E H

E to suggest. And last, but not least, it is important to remember that the great majority of the population B

O in the Heads of the Valleys enjoys good health. T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

32 Footnotes 36 For example, ‘NHS Jobs for Sickness Capital’, BBC News 22nd October 2003, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/wales/south_west/3204065.stm ; Brindley, M., ‘Valleys village named as 'sick' capital of England and Wales’, Western Mail 23rd July 2004 37 The Independent, 21st September 1999, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/merthyr-tydfil-named-as- the-unhealthiest-town-in-britain-742066.html 38 EU Lifeline Project website http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1487 39 Welsh Health Survey 2005-07, Local Authority results Table 7 40 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 41 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 42 For example, Kenway, P. et al (2005) Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion in Wales, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation 43 Wales Spatial Plan data, Health and Well Being, South East Wales. Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatialplan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en 44 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Health Statistics Wales Update 2008, Family Health Services: Table 5.3 45 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) General Medical Services Contract: Quality and Outcomes Framework Statistics for Wales, 2007-08, Statistical Bulletin SDR 168/2008 46 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Total Points achieved by Practice and Domain (Quality and Outcomes Framework), Table 004113, Available at: http://www.statswales.wales.gov.uk/ReportFolders/reportfolders.aspx?IF_ActivePath=P,280,1045,2130. 47 Wales Spatial Plan data, Health and Well Being, South East Wales, available at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/spatialplan/spatialplanareas/southeastwales/?a=0&lang=en 48 Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Health Statistics Wales Update 2008: Family Health Services, Table 5.8 49 Health Inspectorate Wales (2009) Unannounced Cleanliness Spot Check: Cwm Taf NHS Trust. Available at: http://www.hiw.org.uk/Documents/477/Cwm%20Taf%20NHS%20Trust%20Hospital%20Cleanliness%20spot%20che ck%20report-e.pdf 50 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales & Wales Audit Office. Joint Review of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Social Services, February 2008 51 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales & Wales Audit Office. Joint Review of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Social Services, September 2006 available at: http://www.joint- reviews.gov.uk/jointreviewreports/jointreviewreports_229.asp 52 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council - Performance evaluation of local authority social services for year ending 31 March 2008 53 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council - Performance evaluation of local authority social services for year ending 31 March 2008 54 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council - Performance evaluation of local authority social services for year ending 31 March 2008 55 Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, Torfaen County Borough Council - Performance evaluation of local authority social services for year ending 31 March 2008 56 Social Services Inspectorate for Wales, Review of Children’s Services – Blaenau Gwent, 2006 E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

33 6Quality of life Poor perceptions about the quality of life in the Heads of the Valleys abound. Yet there is substantial and growing evidence that the area offers many quality amenities and can offer a good quality lifestyle to residents and visitors alike.

Built environment

The built environment accounts for a relatively small proportion of land use of the Heads of the Valleys, just 3 per cent. This includes a number of protected environments: seven conservation areas, twenty two scheduled ancient monuments and 121 heritage sites of interest. There are also two registered landscapes of outstanding historical interest and four of special historical interest, as well as four parks and gardens of special historical interest. Wales Spatial Plan data for the larger Heads of the Valleys area indicates even larger numbers of registered sites. 59 In addition, Blaenavon is a World Heritage Site. These sites are a valuable feature of the Heads of the Valleys built environment.

The area’s merits are not only historical – the Heads of the Valleys has also won awards for some of its more recently constructed buildings and infrastructure. Some of these are shown in Table 21.

Table 21 Award Winning Buildings and Infrastructure

Blaenavon Heritage Centre Royal Institute of British Architecture Award Winner Wales 2008 Consortium of Local Authorities in Wales Building of the Year Award 2008 Commended The Metropole Conference and Cultural Centre, Abertillery RICS Wales Awards Community Benefit Category 2008 Winner Consortium of Local Authorities in Wales Building of the Year Award 2008 Commended Ebbw Valley Railway RICS Wales Awards Community Benefit Category 2009 Short listed RTPI Cymru Planning Awards 2008 Supreme Award Winner E

R RTPI Infrastructure Awards 2008 Commendation E H

E Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics, Annual Award for Excellence 2008 Finalist B O

T Welsh Assembly Government Offices, Merthyr Tydfil D

O Breeam Awards for sustainability - rated excellent O G

N Orbit Business Centre, Merthyr Tydfil O I T

A Breeam Awards for sustainability - very good D N U

O Riverside Park, Mountain Ash F N

A British Association of Landscape Industries Award, Land Renewal and Regeneration Scheme V E

B Award 2008 Winner - Landcraft Landscapes 34 Ty Clarence, Pontypool RIBA Welsh Housing Design Award 2006 Short listed - Category 2 Housing

There are about 100,000 households in the Heads of the Valleys programme area, two thirds of whom live in owner-occupied housing. 60

Terraced housing is typical of the area and, contrary to those who argue that it means that there is an ‘inferior’ choice of housing type, 61 is in fact a valuable asset. It helps to give the Heads of the Valleys much of its distinctive identity and character, not only in the particular type of terraced housing but in its relationship to the landscape. The Civic Trust in Wales has argued that:

‘If we can look after the characteristic housing of valleys communities we will at the same time be helping to preserve a sense of place and community. Valleys towns have a rich and radical history; this collective memory and identity is important and needs to be cherished in changing times and in the face of an uncertain future. Too often we neglect the familiar and the ordinary; but what is lost cannot be replaced – neither in the streets not our hearts.’ Dr Matthew Griffiths, Director, Civic Trust for Wales 62

Terraced housing is also sustainable. It is often situated in compact neighbourhoods, sometimes with local services, shops and transport links integral to them. According to a report by English Heritage, 63 it is sufficiently flexible for modern living when adapted with well designed extensions and imaginative use of rear yards and roof spaces. Houses can be made larger by combining houses to create larger dwellings, and community open space can be created by selective demolition. Retrofitting energy saving measures can make terraced housing highly energy efficient.

In addition to the area’s terraced housing there is, in addition, a reasonable stock of detached and semi- detached housing: 25 per cent of housing in Blaenau Gwent is semi-detached and nearly one in ten is detached. 64 Altogether in 2001 there were 6,000 detached houses in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent and 14,000 semis in 2001. Contradicting the stereotype, the Heads of the Valleys includes a number of large, period houses, some with land; traditional farmhouses; and modern luxury homes. Table 22 gives examples of houses for sale at the top end of the market in April 2009.

Table 22 Examples of Housing for Sale, April 2009

• A spacious 6 bed roomed house, with 3 bathrooms, situated on a large plot in semi rural surroundings in Hirwaun. 65

• A charming 4 bed detached stone cottage in half an acre plot, with panoramic views, surrounded by fields and woodland. All modern amenities whilst retaining its character. Near Brynmawr. 66

• A unique designed 4 bed property set on a small and select development in Merthyr Tydfil, E R

with a breathtaking entrance hallway and gallery landing, Lounge, Sitting room, E H

Kitchen/Diner/Sun Lounge, Utility, Office/Study, and Sports Room. 67 E B O T D

• A lovely detached 4 bedroom property in Rhymney which is situated in semi rural location, O O with conservatory. Semi-rural location and distant views. 68 G N O I T A D N U O F

Significantly, there is little evidence of problems with the stock of housing in the Heads of the Valleys N A V

69 E area. In 2001, less than 5 per cent of dwellings had no central heating and less than 0.5 per cent was B without sole use of a bath/shower and toilet. 35 House prices in the Heads of the Valleys remain highly affordable, compared to those elsewhere in south Wales and compared with earnings. 70 This is despite very rapid increases in prices from 2004 to 2007. According to GMB, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf were two of just 11 areas in Great Britain where average house prices are less than four times average earnings. For first time buyers (where lower quartile house prices are compared with lower quartile earnings), Local Futures 71 ranked Blaenau Gwent the 6th most affordable area and Merthyr Tydfil the 16th most affordable area in July 2007. Rhondda Cynon Taf was 10th.

Since 2001/02, more than 1,600 houses have been constructed in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent alone, a significant addition to the stock. New developments by volume builders such as Redrow, Barratt, Wimpey and Persimmon, as well as smaller developments by local and specialist developers, have all proved very popular until the recent down turn.

Social Housing

Social housing provides a greater proportion of housing in the Heads of the Valleys than elsewhere in Wales. Registered social landlords in the Heads of the Valleys generally perform well against Wales-wide criteria. Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Councils were amongst the best performing local authorities in discharging their statutory duties to homeless people (for example on average a homeless person in Merthyr spent 22 days in temporary accommodation compared with 484 days in Pembrokeshire), whilst in Blaenau Gwent all homeless people received a decision on their eligibility for help within 33 days compared with just 65 per cent in Cardiff. The two authorities were also quicker than average at delivering a disabled facilities grant, e.g. when a house needs adaptations. 72

Registered social landlords in the Heads of the Valleys have won many awards for their work, in particular their tenant and community participation work, as shown in Table 23.

Table 23 Social Housing Awards

Wales and West Housing Association, Merthyr Vale UK Housing Award - Short listed Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council / Rhondda Cynon Taf Homes TPAS Cymru Participation Award 2008 Award for Wales Communication in Housing - Landlord Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ President’s Grand Prix Award 2008 Dowlais Forum, Merthyr Tydfil Welsh Tenants Federation Community Awards 2008 Winner Outstanding Tenant / Resident Group or panel Cynon Taff Housing Association Chartered Institute of Housing Community Award 2007 Winner Rhondda Cynon Taf Housing Advice Team E R

E Welsh National Homelessness Awards 2007 The Most Progressive Local Authority Award - Winner H E B Caerphilly County Borough Council Supporting People Team O T Welsh National Homelessness Awards 2007 The Most Progressive Local Authority Award - D O

O Runner up G N O

I Blaenau Gwent CBC Participation project T A

D TPAS Cymru Participation Award 2007 - short listed N U O

F Eastern Valley Housing Association N A

V Wales Quality Award 2004 Overall Winner E B Wales Quality Award 2005 Customer Service Prize 36 Leisure and Recreation

An area’s image and economic performance is partly shaped through its culture and leisure facilities. As well as contributing to the economy, through tourism, creative and leisure industries, research suggests that high quality leisure and culture facilities can have more far reaching benefits. 73 Social, cultural and environmental aspects of quality of life are important factors in attracting and retaining a skilled workforce, whilst participation in cultural and leisure activities has also been shown to strengthen communities, reduce crime and improve education and health outcomes.

Arts and Cultural Activities

The Heads of the Valleys has an increasingly strong and diverse range of arts and cultural opportunities, in addition to its long standing local cultural activities. A multiplex cinema opened in Merthyr Tydfil in 2008, and there are also established cinemas in Aberdare and Brynmawr. A number of other venues offer varied programmes of arts activities, including theatre, music, comedy, art and craft workshops, etc.

To give an indication of the breadth of activities on offer, Table 24 gives a selection of the events that were promoted on venue websites in April 2009. This listing excludes many more events that were run by community centres or by private venues such as clubs and pubs. These are an important feature of community cultural life.

Over the years, many well known artists of all kinds have come from the Heads of the Valleys and gone on to international acclaim, ranging from Racing Cars and Man to Stereophonics to the Manic Street Preachers and members of the Blackout and the Lost Prophets.

The area is also home to a growing number of artists who chose to produce their work in the area, be it poetry (such as Patrick Jones and Mike Jenkins ), painting (for example Martyn Jones, Martyn Evans and numerous artists exhibiting at Sylvatica Prints ), 74 photography (such as David Hart and Jan Nelson), and many other art forms.

Sports and Recreation Facilities

The Heads of the Valleys includes a diverse range of sports facilities, including:

• 7 swimming pools (Merthyr Leisure Centre; Aberfan Pool; Aberdare Pool; Tredegar Sports Centre; Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre; Nantyglo Sports Centre; Heolddu Leisure Centre, Bargoed)

• 8 dedicated sports and leisure centres (Abertillery Sports Centre; Ebbw Vale Sports Centre; Nantyglo Sports Centre; Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre; Michael Sobell Centre Aberdare; New Tredegar Leisure Centre; Heolddu Leisure Centre, Bargoed) in addition to community centres that offer sport and fitness activities. E R E

• Specialist sports facilities including indoor bowls at Abertillery and Merthyr Leisure Centre (under H E

construction), Ebbw Vale Cricket School, Brynmawr Athletics Track; Summit Centre, Trelewis (climbing, B O bouldering, caving, mountain biking, etc.). T D O O G N O Shopping, Wining and Dining I T A D N

75 U

Several of the Heads of the Valleys town centres have considerable strength as retail locations, in particular O F N

Merthyr Tydfil. These include: A V E B • Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare are included in the list drawn up by Experien of the 700 most significant retail 37 centres in the UK. Table 24 Arts and Cultural Activities April 2009

What’s On – April 2009 The Met, Abertillery 9th April - Easter Workshop 16th April - Rapunzel and the Tower of Doom (workshop) 17th April - Jazz in the Bar 6th April - 7th May - Local Art Exhibition Beaufort Theatre 24th April - South by South Wales, comedy performance Pontypool Museum 1st - 30th April - Café Art Exhibition of paintings by Vernon Jones Pontypool College 24th April - North Torfaen Musical Festival featuring Pontypool Brass Band, Blaenavon Male Voice Choir, Blaenavon Ladies Choir, Coro Cantabile, Cwmbran Baroque Singers and Garndiffaith Gleemen. Pontypool Museum 27th April onwards - Welsh Wood and Wool, an exhibition bringing together wood carvings by Arthur Cadman and textiles by Jane Dorsett and the Pontypool Textile Group. Garndiffaith Millennium Rorkes Drift and the Zulu Wars Hall, Pontypool Presentation on the Zulu Wards by Bill Cainan in full dress. The Myfanwy Theatre, 16th April - Punk Forever Festival with music from Attila The Merthyr Tydfil College Stockbroker and others, art by Jamie Reid and poetry from the Red Poets Society 18th April - Welsh National Opera, an evening of light opera 23rd April - Graceland Tribute to Elvis Presley 30th April - Sex Pistols Experience Imperial Hotel, Merthyr 23rd April - Poetry reading, David Hughes Tydfil Capel Soar, Merthyr 30th April - Launch of the book by Angharad Lewis Tydfil Town Centre, Merthyr 18th April - Chartist Festival with lecture, street theatre and debates Tydfil Cyfarthfa Castle & 20th April on - Coming Home exhibition of photography by Walter Museum Waygood St Tydfil’s Old Parish 25th April - Concert with Con Voce Mixed Choir and Llwydcoed Band Church Coliseum Theatre, 3rd April - Take Part Performance workshop Aberdare 7th April - Take Part Rock Orchestra 8th April - Take Part Dance Classes 28th April - Funny Girl performed by Selsig Operatic Society 8th April - The Elixir of Love, presented by Swansea City Opera 29th April - Pam Tillis, Double Grammy award winning American E R

E singer-songwriter. H E

B Tredegar Little Theatre 2nd - 4th April - A Foot in the Door, Tredegar Thespians O T

D Llanhilleth Miners 18th April - Taster Day - try out break-dancing, DJing, photography, O O

G Institute web design, Jewellery making and other crafts. N

O 30th April - An evening of clairvoyance with Mike Davies. I T A D N U O F N A V E B

38 • Merthyr Tydfil commands a retail rental level of £70 per sq ft for prime retail space 76 while Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare have yields of 8.00 and 10.00 respectively.

• Surveys suggest that the attractiveness of Cardiff as a place to visit for shopping is declining for Heads of the Valleys residents.

There have been several new developments which have increased shopping provision in the area further, including the Festival Retail Park (whose 100,000 sq ft and 41 units are now fully let) and the Cyfarthfa Retail Park (23,600 sq m), which mean that the area now includes several major retailers such as Debenhams, TK Maxx, Clarks, Cotton Traders, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Whittards, Julian Graves and Thorntons, as well as Argos, Currys, Sports World etc.

It is fair to say that the Heads of the Valleys does not have a good reputation for its restaurants or bars and, compared to other areas, they appear to be fewer in number here than in Wales’ cities. Nevertheless, the area does enjoy:

• A number of chain restaurants such as Frankie and Benny’s, Nando’s Chicken, Pizza Hut, Brewsters and others. • Independent restaurants serving traditional, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Spanish and other specialty cuisine. • A range of popular cafes and tea rooms. • A number of chain pubs, such as J D Wetherspoons.

Some of the Heads of the Valleys pubs and restaurants are award-winners, including:

• Aberglais Inn, Pontsarn, Merthyr Tydfil - The ‘Abbott Ale Perfect pub’ Regional Winners 2007 77

• Sergeants Restaurant with Rooms at Nelson is AA 4 star, and was a finalist in the 2002/03 True Taste of Wales Awards

• Belle Vue Pub, Tredegar – awarded a ‘Beautiful Beer’ award by the British Beer and Pub Association, 2009

The area also has a wide range of serviced accommodation graded by Visit Wales, from country house hotels to traditional inns. As well as two Travelodge Hotels (in Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypool) and four E R

Premier Inns (in Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Ebbw Vale and Pontypool), the Heads of the Valleys also E H E

includes: B O T D O

• Three 3* hotels O G

• Five 4* and one 3* bed and breakfasts N O I T

• Three 4* guest houses A D N

• Two 4* star farm houses U O F

• Two 3* inns N A V E B There are also some establishments which are AA or RAC-registered rather than registered with Visit Wales, including one 4* hotel and spa. 39 Community safety

The Heads of the Valleys has a reputation for strong community identity and relationships, based on a low ‘turnover’ of the population – a high proportion of people living in the area were born there with limited in-migration from elsewhere – and on strong family and neighbourhood networks.

Overall, the Heads of the Valleys are relatively safe places in which to live. Although the overall crime rate 78 in Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent was above the all-Wales figure in 2007/08, it was considerably lower than the crime rate for Cardiff or Newport and broadly comparable with other semi- urban areas such as Wrexham. In terms of specific crimes, rates were around the same in the Heads of the Valleys as the Welsh average for most crimes. However they were strikingly lower than the rates of recorded crime in Cardiff or Newport for almost all offences except theft of vehicles. Table 25 gives details.

Table 25 Recorded crime 2007-08 per 10,000 population (a)

Merthyr Blaenau Swansea Cardiff Newport Wales Tydfil Gwent All crime (b) 1,108 916 986 1,434 1,375 875 Violence against the 214 157 175 227 266 166 person Sexual offences 7 9 8 12 14 9 Robbery 5 1 5 17 12 4 Burglary 125 88 135 171 160 90 Burglary dwelling 41 34 67 87 83 38 Theft of vehicle 77 48 51 57 43 33 Theft from vehicle 117 83 103 222 134 74 Criminal Damage 286 236 205 295 291 202 Drug offences 45 32 44 73 42 43

Sources: (a) Welsh Assembly Government (2008) Local Crime in Wales 2008, Statistical Article Table 2, Available at: http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2008/081211sa25en.pdf?lang=en (b) Assembly Key Statistics for Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent, Swansea, Cardiff and Newport. NB for 2006/07 Available at: http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-guide-docs-pub/bus-assembly-publications-research.htm

Conclusion E R E H

E The Heads of the Valleys offer an increasingly high quality and diverse range of amenities, from outdoor B O

T activities to shopping and eating out. It enjoys crime rates that are below those of nearby cities. Taken D

O together, these findings seriously challenge the view that there is little for residents or businesses to enjoy O G in the area. N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

40 Footnotes 59 544 listed buildings, 135 scheduled ancient monuments and 11 conservation areas enau Gwent, 2006 60 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 61 Institute of Welsh Affairs (undated) The Socio-Economic Characteristics of the South Wales Valleys in Context – a report for the Welsh Assembly Government, Available at: http://newydd.cymru.gov.uk/about/aboutresearch/econoresearch/completed/valleys/;jsessionid=Zk1NKLCRhTspbPL30B77 gKKzJvyvB8DXVgbQ1fcHJJc4JmRFBMQY!1298896870?lang=en&ts=3 62 Quoted on My Valleys House website http://www.myvalleyshouse.org.uk/ 63 English Heritage (2005) Low Demand Housing and the Historic Environment , London: English Heritage 64 Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council Key Statistics Census 2001, http://www.blaenau- gwent.gov.uk/documents/Documents_Governance/Blaenau_Gwent_Census_2001_Key_Statistics_Summary1.pdf 65 http://www.fish4.co.uk/iad/homes/advert?adId=23505990&sid=s3D63A482B995944&pos=11&src=search&tot=16 &page=2&Area=234436 66 http://www.thelittlehousecompany.co.uk/property-for-sale-4-bed-Detached-House-in-Ebbw-Vale-Blaenau-Gwent-NP23- 08706.html 67 http://www.propertyfinder.com/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=504612440 68 http://www.fish4.co.uk/iad/homes/advert?adId=23477724&src=nestoria 69 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 70 GMB Union (2008) ‘London, South West, Scotland and South East are the top regions in the UK where prices are still way above affordability range says GMB’, Available at: http://www.gmbunion.org/news/story898.pdf 71 Local Futures, Housing Affordability for First Time Buyers July 2007, http://www.localfutures.com/Assets/2312/housing%20barometer%20&%20data%20-%20jul%2007.pdf 72 Local Government Data Unit Wales (2008) Local Authority Performance 2007-08, Available at: http://dissemination.dataunitwales.gov.uk/nesstar/temp/EGMS20090129143824232/DOCEN.pdf 73 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2002), Competitive European Cities: Where do the Core Cities Stand? 74 http://www.sylvaticaprints.co.uk/walter-daw-wales-photographs.shtml 75 Welsh Assembly Government (2006) Turning Heads – A strategy for the Heads of the Valleys, Appendix B Environmental, Social and Economic Baseline Report, available at http://wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/4038231141/403821125/TransportPublications/565049/Annex_B.pdf?lang=en 76 Colliers CRE 2005 Retail Rent Report 77 www.perfectpubs.co.uk/reg_winners_2007.htm 78 The number of recorded crimes per 1,000 population E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

41 7Conclusion

This report has demonstrated that the Heads of the Valleys has many positive features, ranging from its superb natural environment, its small but dynamic economy, its well-qualified workforce and good schools, the quality of its health and social care, and its increasingly vibrant cultural life. We suspect that many of the findings of this report will surprise those who like to label the Heads of the Valleys, and its people, as the epitome of everything awful about contemporary Wales. These labels are unhelpful and untrue.

That said, it is worth repeating that the Heads of the Valleys’ good qualities do not negate the very serious social and economic problems that continue to exist. Tackling the problems of lack of jobs, poor health and low qualifications must continue to be a very high priority, and there is nothing in this report that suggests otherwise.

Crucially, the positive features of the Heads of the Valleys demonstrate that poverty and disadvantage are not simply the product of geography. There is nothing intrinsic to the Heads of the Valleys that make everyone and everything in the area poor and deprived – location on its own does not somehow drag down socio-economic conditions. Instead, the good features highlight that the quality of life here can and should be better for everyone. They show that it possible for young people from the Heads of the Valleys to do well at school and go into higher education; that it is possible to have a professional occupation and live in a large comfortable home in Blaenau Gwent; or that Merthyr Tydfil is an amenable environment to be an artist. That so many people do not have these advantages is because the economy and society is unequal and unjust, not because of ‘something in the water’ in the Heads of the Valleys.

The findings also suggest key strengths on which future regeneration strategies could build, which are, in some instances, very different from conventional wisdom. For example, far from there being little likelihood that individuals will be able to start any but the most basic businesses, 79 experience to date suggests that there is in fact considerable potential for business start-ups and growth.

Broadly, these strengths are, we would suggest: E R E H E

B • The New business start ups O T • Business environmental successes D O

O • The pool of professional and managerial workers, and skilled trades people G

N • The qualified workforce and graduates from the area O I T A

D • The health economy N U O

F • Affordable, heritage housing N A

V • Cultural and artistic life E B

42 It is, as before, important to emphasise that focusing on these features must not be at the expense of tackling the area’s persistent problems. Making the most of the skills of graduates from the area, for example, does not mean abandoning efforts to raise the qualifications of those at the bottom of the educational heap.

Indeed, it is vital that public policy pursues a twin track approach – on the one hand, addressing the inequalities that consign people to poverty, worklessness and ill health whilst on the other, generating opportunities for a better quality of life. Focusing only on building routes out of poverty and disadvantage without thinking about the destination means that the lucky few that make it will simply move away, whilst for the rest there is little motivation or reward for change. Focusing only on development without tackling poverty and disadvantage means that the worst off get left behind and problems simply remain.

People in the Heads of the Valleys get weary of constantly being told how poor and disadvantaged they are. It does nothing to be told that you are bottom of the league table over and again. We are convinced that what they do want to see is respect for them as individuals and communities, an understanding of what living in the Heads of the Valleys is really like – good as well as bad, and – vitally – concerted action to bring change.

We hope this report is a step in the right direction. E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

Footnotes 43 79 David, R (2004) Future of the Valleys, Agenda pp 12 – 16 Annex A Heads of the Valleys Schools included in Table 10

Merthyr Tydfil (a) Afon Taf High School Bishop Hedley Catholic High School Cyfarthfa High School

Blaenau Gwent (b) Abertillery Comprehensive School Brynmawr Comprehensive School Ebbw Vale Comprehensive School Glyncoed Comprehensive School Nantyglo Comprehensive School

Rhondda Cynon Taf (c) Aberdare Boys’ Comprehensive School Blaengwawr Comprehensive School Ferndale Community School Mountain Ash Comprehensive School St John Baptist (Church in Wales Voluntary aided) High School Treorchy Comprehensive School

Torfaen (d) St Albans RC High School Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw

Caerphilly (e) Heolddu Comprehensive School

E Lewis Comprehensive School R E H

E a. A new-style inspection report for Pen-y-dre High School is not available B O

T b. A new-style inspection report of Tredegar Comprehensive School is not available D

O c. New-style inspection reports for Aberdare Girls’ Comprehensive School and Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun O G are not available N O I

T d. A new-style inspection report for Abersychan School is not available. A D

N e. A new-style inspection report for Rhymney Comprehensive is not available U O F N A V E B

44 E R E H E B O T D O O G N O I T A D N U O F N A V E B

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