Section 1: St. Helens in Context
The Borough of St. Helens
St. Helens Borough is located at the eastern end of the Merseyside conurbation, 12 miles from Liverpool City Centre and 25 miles from Manchester City Centre.
Administratively, St. Helens forms part of Merseyside and lies within the Liverpool City Region (LCR). The Borough of St. Helens comprises the town itself and the surrounding settlements of Billinge, Crank, Eccleston, Earlestown, Garswood, Haydock, Newton-le-Willows, Rainford, Rainhill and Windle. It covers an area of 135sqkm, of which approximately half is countryside, designated as Green Belt. The M6, M62 and A580 (East Lancashire Road) and the Preston to Liverpool and Manchester to Liverpool rail lines pass through St. Helens, whilst the M58 lies just outside the northern boundary of the Borough.
Historically, St. Helens was famous for its role within the glass making industry and the rapid industrialisation that occurred in this area at the time of the Industrial Revolution, as a result of this.
Map 1: St. Helens in Context
Map 1 illustrates the position of St. Helens in the wider sub-region of Merseyside (in yellow) and beyond including parts of Greater Manchester (pink) and Cheshire (blue). Its position is central within the region and its location half way between Liverpool and Manchester can be visibly seen.
Map 2 below illustrates the main access routes into the Borough, the Ward boundaries as defined in 2004 and the expanse of the Green Belt.
Map 2: The Borough of St. Helens
Status key
Data Indicates better than National average
Data Indicates consistency with National average
Data Indicates below/poorer than National average
Data is unclear due to lack of information
Population
Table 1: St. Helens Total Population 2001- 2016 Year St Helens Merseyside North West England and Wales 2016 178,500 1,406,400 7,219,600 58,381,300
2015 177,612 1,398,000 7,173,800 57,885,400
2014 144,200 1,391,100 7,133,000 57,408,600
2013 176,200 1,386,600 7,103,300 56,948,200
2012 176,100 1,385,700 7,084,300 56,567,800
2011 175,405 1,380,800 7,056,000 56,171,000
2010 177,400 1,353,400 6,935,700 55,240,500
2009 177,100 1,350,600 6,897,900 54,809,100
2008 177,500 1,347,800 6,875,700 54,439,700
2007 177,400 1,350,200 6,864,300 51,092,000
2006 177,600 1,353,600 6,853,200 50,762,900
2005 176,300 1,367,100 6,846,200 50,390,200
2004 176,700 1,365,800 6,827,200 53,046,200
2003 176,700 1,364,100 6,804,500 52,793,700
2002 176,700 1,365,200 6,783,500 52,570,200
2001 176,800 1,367,800 6,773,000 52,360,000
(Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Mid-year population estimates 2001-2016)
From the figures above we can compare the population growth of St. Helens within its locality and in comparison with the rest of country, and although the population has grown slightly (0.96%) over the last 15 years, it has not grown by the same rate as the rest of the country.
Population Growth - 2001 - 2016
14 12 St. Helens 10 8 Merseyside 6 4 North West 2
0 England and Wales
West
North
England
St. Helens
and and Wales Merseyside
Health and Wellbeing
Life Expectancy
In St. Helens, men currently live on average 77.70 years, which is lower than the national average. Women live on average 81.50 years, which is also lower than the national average. Tackling inequalities in health and improving overall health and wellbeing will reduce premature mortality and improve life expectancy.
Disability and limiting long-term illness
Levels of disability and poor health can be measured through the take-up of health related benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), who provide benefits to support the care needs of people in a chronic state of ill health or disability. Disability and long term health issues can have a number of social exclusion implications, people with long term illness and disability can face exclusion from the labour market and may require significant support to meet their social care needs.
The table 2 below captures self-reported measures of poor health and disability from the most recent census. It shows the percentage of the resident population that have self-assessed as having a limiting long-term illness.
Table 2: People with Poor Health or a Limiting Long-Term Illness St. Helens North West England People living with limiting long-term illness (% 22.97 (40,262) 20.23 17.64 of all people) (2011) People in not good health (% of all people) 8.28 (14,507) 6.79 5.49 (2011) (Source: Office for National Statistics – Census data)
From the data provided, it is clear that St. Helens has a much higher percentage of people with limiting long-term illnesses than those in the rest of England and the North West. A similar percentage is also reported for those people not in good health.
Healthy lifestyle behaviours
Encouraging a healthy lifestyle is central to improving health outcomes. High levels of smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption are likely to increase premature mortality levels. This is recognised in both national and local strategies.
Table 3 shows the percentage of children and adults who are either obese or overweight in the local area.
Table 3: Numbers of Obese & Overweight Children St. Helens North West England Prevalence of obesity in reception year pupils (%) (2015- 12.5 9.8 9.3 2016) Prevalence of obesity in year 6 (%) (2015-2016) 23.9 20.6 19.8 % of children (reception age) who are overweight 27.5 23.2 22.1 (including obese) (2015-2016) % children (year 6) who are overweight (including obese) 39.7 36.2 34.2 (2015-2016) Adult Obesity Levels St. Helens North West England % of adults who are overweight or obese (aged 16+) 71.2 66.6 64.8 (2013-2015) (Source: Annual Population Survey)
Again the numbers for St. Helens are significantly higher than those for the rest of England, with the most significant increase in the number of adults who are overweight or obese.
Social Care
Informal care
The provision of care is one of the necessary consequences of ill health. This provision may be informal and unpaid (typically by other family members) or provided by the Local Authority or other organisation. Table 4 indicates the proportion of people who reported in the 2011 Census that they provide some form of unpaid care. St. Helens has the highest proportion of residents (12.9%) providing unpaid care in the NW and the 4th highest in England. The average for England is 10.2%.
The majority of residents report providing between 1 and 19 hours of unpaid care a week. It is evident however that there is a greater proportion of carers in St. Helens providing in excess of 20 hours plus care a week, compared to the NW and England averages. The proportion providing 50 plus hours of care a week is very high, at 3.69% of all carers.
Table 4: People Providing Unpaid Care St. Helens North West England People providing unpaid care, 1-19 hours per week (% of 7.15 6.66 6.51 total population) (2011) (12,528) People providing unpaid care, 20-49 hours per week (% 2.05 1.6 1.36 of total population) (2011) (3,590) People providing unpaid care, 50+ hours per week (% of 3.69 2.83 2.37 total population) (2011) (6,473) Provides no unpaid care (% of total population) (2011) 87.11 88.91 89.76 (152,717) (Source: ONS - Census)
Children's Social Care
A child in need is one who has been assessed by children's social care to be in need of services. These services can include:
family support (to help keep together families experiencing difficulties); leaving care support (to help young people who have left local authority care); adoption support; or disabled children's services (including social care, education and health provision).
Children in care or 'Looked after children' range between the ages of 0-18 yrs of age. The term 'looked after' refers to children who are subject to care orders or accommodated through foster care. Many children and young people who become looked after retain strong links with their families and many eventually return home.
Table 5 below provides some information about children in care and children at risk.
Table 5: Children’s Social Care St. Helens North West England Children in need (rate per 1,000 children) (2016) 92.12 73.93 66.71 Total referrals of children and young people to social 625.2 583.6 532.2 services departments (rate 10,000 children) (2016) Children who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan 79.1 55.2 43.1 (rate 10,000 children) (2016) Number of Looked After Children (0-17) per 10,000 child 113 82 60 population (2016) (Source: Department for education (DfE)))
From the information above it is quite clear that St. Helens has a significantly higher number of children requiring social care, compared to the rest of the North West and England.
Economy and Employment
The Borough covers a total of 135 square kilometres, of which approximately half is rural and half is urban.
Its proud history is linked with the industrial revolution, coal mining, and a world famous glass industry, which employed many of the local residents. However, the industrialisation of the Borough and its subsequent decline from the late 1970s onwards left a legacy of issues including long-term inter-generational unemployment, low levels of enterprise and poor environmental quality of parts of the Borough.
In more recent years St Helens has seen widespread regeneration, with the positive transformation of many parts of the Borough and the development of new housing, business premises, transport facilities and green and open spaces. Yet in some respects St Helens remains a fairly typical northern town. The Borough has an aging population with growing numbers of vulnerable people requiring support. Poor health and worklessness remain key issues and there is relatively high deprivation and inequality to be found in areas of the Borough. Unemployment levels and reliance on benefits are above regional averages; whilst skill levels although improving remain comparatively low.
Despite these issues, St Helens has many strengths. The Borough enjoys a strategic position at the heart of the North West and has great potential to increase its economic growth and competitiveness. Business sectors such as logistics represent a major strength due to St Helens excellent transport network and connectivity. Self-employment levels have increased and business survival rates at 5-years are improved.
Employment
Table 6 sets out the number and proportion of working age adults who are economically active, in employment or economically inactive in the local area and comparator areas. Figures are derived from responses in the Annual Population Survey, a quarterly survey of approximately 170,000 households and 360,000 persons.
The Annual Population Survey data is rolling year data reported at a point in time during the year. Please note that there is a significant lag period for the publication of data.
Table 6: Economic Activity Rate St. Helens North West England Economically active people of working age (% all aged 73.2 75.7 78.2 16-64) (April 16-17) (81,300) Employed people of working age (% all aged 16-64) (April 70 (77,800) 71.8 74.4 16-17) Unemployment rate – modelled estimate (% of 26.8 24.3 21.8 (29.800) Unemployment rate – modelled estimate (% of 4.3 (3,500) 5.2 4.9 economically active population) (April 16 – March 2017) (Source: Annual population Survey (APS))
Earnings
The earnings profile of a local area provides an indicator of the affluence of the local area as well as a measure of economic strength in terms of the prospects for well-paid employment locally.
Table 7 below shows resident and workplace weekly earnings (£), including those who commute out to work outside the local area. Mean earnings is the average pay people receive. Median earnings refers to the mid-point, i.e. 50% of people will be above this point and 50% of people will be below it. Lower quartile earnings refers the lowest 25% of pay.
Table 7: Weekly Earnings: Resident St. Helens North West England Median earnings by place of residence (Earnings) (2016) 431.2 413.2 442.3 Mean earnings by place of residence (Earnings) (2016) 482.5 485.3 532.3 Lower quartile earnings by place of residence (Earnings) 281.1 268.2 278.5 (2016) (Source: Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings (ASHE))
Unemployment
Unemployment estimates are based on a statistical model. Data is drawn from the Annual Population Survey, Labour Force Survey and supplemented by Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) data, leading to a more statistically robust dataset. Table 8 shows the unemployment number for St. Helens and the Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimant numbers, the percentage of JSA claimants aged 18-24 years at the end of the most recent month (March 2017).
JSA claimants are not a direct measure of unemployment levels because not all people who are unemployed will claim JSA. However, there is a correlation between JSA claimant numbers and unemployment level. In addition, the table shows the primary benefits paid to people of working age (16-64 years) who are unable to work due to illness. It also shows the proportion of people who are not in work and who receive key out of work benefits, displaying national and regional figures for comparison.
Table 8: Key Unemployment Indicators St. Helens North West England Unemployment rate – modelled estimate (% of 4.3 (3,500) 5.2 4.9 economically active population) (April 2016 – March 2017) Jobseekers Allowance claimants (% of working age 2.9 (2,200) 2.5 2.0 population) (March 2017) JSA Claimants aged 18-24 years St. Helens North West England Jobseekers Allowance claimants aged 18-24 (% of 5.4 (745) 3.7 2.9 population aged 18-24) (March 2017) Work limiting illness - Incapacity Benefit and Employment Support Allowance Claimants St. Helens North West England Incapacity Benefit claimants (%of working age 0.34 0.28 0.26 population) (2016) Employment Support Allowance claimants Total (% of 9.34 7.64 5.68 working age population) (2016) (Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)/Department for Work and Pensions (DWP))
The table quite clearly shows that despite having a lower than national unemployment rate, those seeking JSA (especially claimants aged 18-24) is significantly higher than the regional and national numbers, with Employment Support Allowance claimants 39% higher than the national average.
Education and Skills
Educational Attainment
Educational attainment is an important part of preparing our children and young people for a successful, enjoyable and fulfilled future.
Practitioners must indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are exceeding expected levels, or not yet reaching expected levels (‘emerging’). This is the EYFS Profile.
This dataset provides information on the average points score achieved by children across all 17 Early Learning Goals. Table 9 below shows the percentage of children achieving a good level of development in the Early Learning Goals and the average point score across the Early Years Foundation Stage for all pupils, and a breakdown by girl / boy pupils.
The Early Years Foundation profile measures children's progress in terms of Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) and Communication, Language and Literacy (CLL).
Table 9: Early Years Foundation Stage Profile St. Helens North West England Average point score Early Years Foundation Stage, Average Point Score (2016) 33.50 33.90 34.50 Early Years Foundation Stage, Average Point Score, 35.00 35.30 35.70 females (2016) Early Years Foundation Stage, Average Point Score, males 32.10 32.30 33.20 (2016) Pupils achieving a good level of development Pupils achieving a good level of development (%) (2016) 66.00 66.70 69.30 Pupils achieving a good level of development, females 75.00 74.80 76.80 (%) (2016) Pupils achieving a good level of development, males (%) 57.50 58.90 62.10 (2016) (Source: Department of Education)
Table 10 shows the proportion of people achieving expected targets at Key Stage 4 (GCSE). St. Helens is slightly lower than the national average,
Table 10: Pupil Attainment at GCSE level (Key Stage 4) St. Helens North West England Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 (2015) 1,957 75,928 549,362 Pupils achieving 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C (%) 65 66 67 (2015) Pupils achieving 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C , 55 56 57 including English and Maths (%) (2015) Pupils achieving 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-G (%) 92 94 94 (2015) (Source: Department of Education)
Absence
The table below compares the total number of authorised and unauthorised pupil absences in the local and comparator areas.
Table 11: Pupil Absences St. Helens North West England Pupil enrolments (2016) 21,924 520,905 6,737,190 Pupil overall absences (%) (2016) 4.6 4 4.6 Pupil authorised absences (%) (2016) 3.3 3.1 3.4 Pupil unauthorised absences (%) (2016) 1.3 1 1.1 Pupil persistent absences (%) (2016) 10.8 8.5 10.5 (Source: Department of Education)
Adult skills
In a competitive job market, appropriate skills levels are key to people successfully securing and retaining work. Without the skills to secure work and in a difficult economic climate, individuals with no qualifications are at an immediate disadvantage in the recruitment process and may be passed over in favour of a better qualified candidate. Traditionally, the skills level, e.g. level of literacy and/or numeracy, of people living in the Borough is comparatively lower than the national average. Schemes to improve literacy and numeracy skills, e.g. Skills for Life, have been successful in recent years in reducing the number of people with low qualification levels.
Table 12 below shows the number of people by highest level of qualification held (people of working age 16-64) in the local and comparator areas.
Table 12: Qualification level of working age adults St. Helens North West England People of working-age with no qualifications (% of 11.44 9.5 8.0 working age population) (2016) (12,700) People of working-age qualified to at least level 1(% of 82.5 84.8 85.3 working age population) (2016) (91,800) People of working-age qualified to at least level 2 (% of 69.3 73.0 74.3 working age population) (2016) (77,100) People of working-age qualified to at least level 3 (% of 46.2 53.7 56.9 working age population) (2016) (51,400) People of working-age qualified to at least level 4 (% of 26.6 34 38.2 working age population) (2016) (29,600) (Source: Annual Population Survey (APS))
Deprivation
The concept of deprivation is a wide one, covering a broad range of issues. Deprivation refers to unmet needs caused by a lack of resources and opportunities of all kinds, not just financial. It can therefore be defined through issues such as poor housing, homelessness, low educational attainment, lack of employment and worklessness, poor health and high levels of mortality.
The Indices of Deprivation attempt to measure this broad concept of multiple deprivation at small area level and provide a relative picture of levels of deprivation across the country.
In order to capture this picture the Indices use data from a basket of indicators within 7 distinct domains. Most indicators in the 2015 Indices relate to the financial year 2012/13. The domain indices are:
Income deprivation Employment deprivation Health deprivation and disability Education, skills and training deprivation Barriers to housing and services Living environment deprivation Crime deprivation
The data is examined at Lower Super Output Area level (LSOA), of which there are 32,844 in the country and 119 within St. Helens. LSOAs are designed to be of a similar population size, with an average of 1,500 residents each and are a standard statistical building block for dividing up the country. A relative score and ranking is then produced for every LSOA across each of the domains. This allows a comparative analysis of these 7 distinct dimensions of deprivation to be made across areas of the country.
It is important to acknowledge that the Index of Multiple Deprivation is a relative measure of deprivation. This means it can tell you if one area is more deprived than another, but not by how much.
The map below highlights the amount of deprivation within the Borough. The 2015 National Index shows that St. Helens has become more deprived relative to other areas. St. Helens is the 36th most deprived local authority out of all 326 across the country, its relative position worsening from the 2010 Index, where St. Helens was ranked as the 51st most deprived.
Map 3: Multiple deprivation – Working-age DWP benefit claimants (2016 Qu4)
Child Poverty
The impact on quality of life for children living in poverty can extend beyond the immediate issues presented by living in a low income household. Children who grow up in poverty often face a greater risk of having poor health, or being exposed to crime. As a result, their education is more likely to suffer, making it difficult for them to get the qualifications they need to get a good, well-paid job; and this in turn limits their potential to earn the money needed to support their own families in later life, and so a cycle of poverty is created.
The Households Below Average Income (HBAI) publication provides the definitive national measure of relative child poverty as set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010. The Children in Low-Income Families Local Measure provides a broad proxy for local-level analysis which can help explore the considerable variation in low-income rates that exists between and within regions and local authorities.
The Children in Low-Income Families Local Measure is the proportion of children living in families within the UK that are either in receipt of out-of-work benefits or in receipt of tax credits with a reported income which is less than 60 per cent of national median income. Administrative data sources on benefits and tax credits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are used in the calculation of the Children in Low-Income Families Local Measure.
This measure should not be used to obtain a definitive measure of child poverty in any given area. However, it can reliably be used to explore variations in low income across the UK.
Table 13 below shows the proportion of dependent children (aged under 20 years) living in a low income family, which amounts to almost a quarter of children in St. Helens living in poverty.
Please note there is a considerable time lag before the publication of data, approximately one year following the end of the entitlement year in question. As a result, the full picture is not known for this monitoring period.
Table 13: Children in low income families St. Helens North West England Children in low income families (local child poverty 24.2 (9225) 22.6 19.9 measure) – (% of all dependent children aged <20 years) (2014) (Source: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP))
Housing
Homelessness
Homelessness is a key driver of social exclusion and inequality. People are at greater risk of worklessness as they are caught in a 'no job - no home vicious circle', unable to get a job due to issues such as a lack of contact addresses or poor sleeping patterns. In 2016 St. Helens was lower than the national average of homelessness and homeless households in temporary accommodation. Housing market
Delivering high quality housing and meeting the housing needs of the local population is a key priority for the Borough. The figures in table 14 indicate the mean price paid for all properties, the total price paid for all properties and the number of property transactions in November 2016.
Table 14: House Prices St. Helens North West England Sum of total prices paid for all properties (monthly) 139,739 187,577 317,815 (Mean price paid for all properties (monthly)) (November 2016) Sum of total prices paid for all properties (monthly) 9,642 699,098 9,260,170 (November 2016) Number of property transactions (monthly) (November 69 3,727 29,137 2016) (Source: Land Registry)
The relative mix of property types within the Borough as a whole remains largely as it was in 2001, albeit with a small increase in the relative percentage of detached properties and flats/apartments and a corresponding decrease in the relative percentage of semi-detached and terraced properties. The changes reflect the new build aspirational housing projects undertaken across the Borough, stock clearance of older properties and a trend in RSLs to build smaller housing units.
Local Community
Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
Co-ordinated partnership activity has seen steady decreases in crime and disorder over recent years. However, the public's perception of crime does not always reflect this success, as perceptions of crime may often be at odds with official statistics. As people are affected by what they see, hear or feel, negative perceptions around crime and disorder and the way in which it is being tackled can have a detrimental impact on people's quality of life.
Issues such as vandalism, graffiti, drunk or rowdy behaviour and drug dealing can all feature high on the public radar, leaving them feeling unsafe. This demonstrates how important it is to increase public confidence, whilst continuing to tackle issues of crime and anti-social behaviour.
Anti-Social Behaviour
Anti-social-behaviour (ASB) is any act causing harassment, alarm or distress that damages or destroys the quality of life of an individual or a community. Some of these acts can be classed as crimes such as vandalism, drug dealing or drunk or disorderly behaviour. Others may not be classed as crimes, but can still have a serious impact on an individual or a local community, actions such as dumping of litter or rubbish, verbal abuse, and noise disturbance.
Between 2011-2016 there were 2.61 incidents of ASB per 1000 population, reported to the Police.
Recorded crime offences Crime and fear of crime feature regularly as key issues afflicting individuals and communities. Crime can have a detrimental impact upon people's quality of life in a number of ways: individuals can be physically victimised (for example assaulted), materially victimised (for example burgled), or psychologically victimised (for example afraid to leave the house or walk alone after dark).
The negative effects of crime are not just restricted to those individuals who are personally victimised, but also transfer to friends, family, neighbours and colleagues. If left unchecked, these problems may become self-reinforcing, as more and more people in an area experience victimisation, either personally or via someone they know.
If such problems persist over time, a neighbourhood may gain a reputation as a dangerous place to live, resulting in population out-migration, which can further reinforce the cycle of decline.
Crime rates in St. Helens have reduced significantly in recent years. Given the ongoing budgetary pressures facing Merseyside Police, there will be undoubtedly challenging times ahead in maintaining the crime reductions of previous years. However, the Community Safety Partnership is well placed to manage such changes, with robust multi-agency processes in place to coordinate initiatives and resource allocation via the Neighbourhood Action Groups in each Police Neighbourhood.
The table below shows reported individual crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents, recorded by the Police. The table shows the proportion of recorded crime offences in the local and comparator areas for the most recent time-point.
Table 15: Recorded Crime Offences (rate per 1,000 population) (November 2016) St. Helens North West England Anti-social behaviour offences 2.61 (463) 2.81 2.2 Bicycle theft offences .06 (10) .12 .13 Burglary recorded offences 1.75 (139) 1.74 1.52 Criminal damage and arson offences 1.14 (202) .99 .79 Drug crime offences .18 (32) .16 .17 Other crime offences .11 (19) .12 .11 Other theft offences .62 (110) .68 .71 Possession of weapons offences .03 (5) .04 .05 Robbery recorded offences .05 (8) .08 .09 Shoplifting offences .66 (118) .54 .53 Theft from the person offences .1 (17) .17 .14 Vehicle crime offences .5 (89) .62 .64 Violence and sexual offences 1.72 (305) 1.9 1.72 (Source: Police UK)
Local Transport Network
St. Helens has an extensive bus and rail network, providing regular connections to neighbouring towns and cities. It enjoys a strategic position at the heart of the regional road network, placed almost centrally between the core cities of Manchester, 15 miles to the east, and Liverpool, 12 miles to the west. Access to services
The lack of access to suitable employment opportunities, education and training, advice provision, business support and other key services can contribute towards poor outcomes for those most at risk of experiencing deprivation. Poor access to services can be a particular issue for groups including lone parents, older groups, people whose mobility is limited or for those who live in areas where public transportation is poor.
The Borough covers an area of 136 square Kilometres, about half of which is designated greenbelt or open space. Households are defined as being 'significant' distances from key services if they are at least 6-8 km from the nearest service. In St. Helens and in each Ward, no household is judged to be more than 6-8 km from the nearest key service.
Access to transport
People without access to private transport are likely to experience barriers in accessing key services including hospitals, employment centres, supermarkets and other amenities (particularly in rural areas where distances to services are large and public transport provision is poor). National research has indicated that a lack of transport can contribute to social exclusion in urban areas and in rural areas can be the cause of social exclusion. In St. Helens 42.63% of residents own one car or van.
There are now a reported 84,445 cars or vans belonging to households within St. Helens, a 14% increase since 2001. The increase in car ownership has a number of implications including greater congestion, pollution, increased pressure on the road network and the need for additional maintenance and increasing demand for parking provision, particularly on street residential parking.
Table 16 shows the proportion of people travelling to work by public transport (e.g. trains, bus, underground etc.) in the local and comparator areas.
Table 16: People travelling to work by public transport (% of all people aged 16-74) (2011) St. Helens North West England People travelling to work by public transport 5.7 (7,386) 7.28 10.95 People who travel to work by Underground, Metro, Light 0.03 (35) 0.4 2.64 Rail or Tram People who travel to work by Train 1.86 1.73 3.46 (2,411) People who travel to work by Bus, Minibus or Coach 3.81 5.15 4.85 (4,940) (Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census)
Environment
As a Council and with our partners, we are keen to protect our local environment, increase sustainability and reduce any negative impact we may be having on climate change. Some of the areas on which we are focussing include, improving waste management processes, improving the public transport network, reducing the energy consumption in public buildings, implementing air quality management plans and carefully managing our local conservation sites. These actions all contribute to protecting and enhancing the area in which we live and work. The percentage of household waste which has been sent by the Council for reuse, recycling, composting or treatment by anaerobic digestion can be seen in table 17 below.
Table 17: Household Waste St. Helens North West England Percentage of Household Waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting Household waste sent for reuse, recycling and 39 46 43 composting (%) (2016) Residual Household Waste per household (kg) Residual Household Waste per household (kg) (2016) 517 516 564 (Source: Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA))