Our Wakefield STATE OF THE DISTRICT REPORT April 2012 update CONTENTS Section Page Introduction 2 Executive Summary 3 Population Profile 5 Employment and Skills 9 Housing and Infrastructure 14 Health 17 Community Safety 22 Environment and Climate Change 26 Culture and Sport 30 Looking Forward 34 2011 Census 35 Information Sources 36 Acknowledgements 40 Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. License No. LA 100019574 2011. 1 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the fourth edition of Wakefield’s State of the District report. This report provides a summary of the current social, economic, health and wellbeing trends across the district of Wakefield. With other local information, the report is designed to support and inform the Wakefield Together Partnership in local decision-making and setting of priorities. Included within the report are important facts and figures about the conditions and circumstances affecting people’s lives in the District in 2012. This includes information on how the demographics of Wakefield are changing and the extent to which people are remaining healthy, safe, financially secure and satisfied with their local environment. It also includes information about the inequalities that exist within the district and conditions within the twelve Priority neighbourhoods, where intelligence has shown that specific support is required in order to address poor outcomes and improve access to services in a targeted way. Nationally, the financial crisis, recession and subsequent faltering recovery have had a significant impact on the financial position of households. Recent Government announcements and advice from the LGA suggests the current economic conditions will continue until at least 2017, and possibly beyond, with all public sector services being subject to significantly reduced resources. Housing market conditions and changes to the benefits system are also set to have a significant impact on people. Locally, we are continuing to monitor the labour market and economic statistics and analyse future trends and needs. We are also paying close attention to statistical trends for signs that the quality of outcomes for local people are being maintained or improved, as the Government’s spending plans continue to require public sector organisations to consider changes to the way that local services are delivered. Against the tide perhaps, the last couple of years have seen the opening of important new developments within the district’s commercial, retail and cultural sectors. In housing too, there have developments in building new, sustainable homes that are likely to attract significant interest nationally. Along with other projects across the district, the impact of these developments will show through in the data and intelligence that is produced locally and nationally and help demonstrate the value of our long-term strategies and planning. The information in this edition has been compiled by the Wakefield Together partner organisations through the Partnership Information and Intelligence Group. The next revision of the State of the District report is planned for autumn 2012. For more information or to make suggestions for future reports, please contact: Wakefield Together Partnership Rooms 52/53 County Hall Bond Street Wakefield WF1 2QW Phone: 01924 305120; Email: [email protected] 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The backdrop to this spring 2012 update of the State of the District Report is a national economy once again dipping into recession, bringing a strong focus on tackling local economic conditions and some of the most challenging times in history for local government and the public sector as a whole. • The Job Seekers Allowance claimant rate remains slightly lower than the regional average and slightly higher than the national rate, but the Wakefield rate has risen from 4.4% in September 2011 to 4.6% of working age people in May 2012 – a further 513 claimants. • The latest available figures on the proportion of people claiming all out of work benefits – the broader picture of worklessness - show that 15% of working age residents are claiming key out of work benefits in the district, compared to 13% and 12% for the region and Great Britain respectively. The trend shows that claiming levels have still to recover back to pre-downturn levels and marked differences remain within the District. • Following a period of above average growth, latest statistics show that the number active businesses fell by 2% (195 fewer businesses) between 2009 and 2010, which was close to the national trend over the same period (down 1.8%). • Measures of economic vitality show a mixed picture. The commercial property occupancy rates as measured by business rates showed a very slight drop in the last quarter of 2011/12 but this masks variations – Knottingley showed a 1.6% improvement in occupancy rates whilst the south east, Wakefield, Castleford and Pontefract all showed a reduction. • A positive side effect is that houses are becoming more affordable, but the ratio of earnings to house prices is still high when looking at long-term trends. The Wakefield Poverty & Prosperity Commission has considered what might be done to reduce poverty and increase prosperity in the district and will report very shortly. This is timely; recent analysis by Experian reaffirmed previous pictures of deprivation in the district but went further to suggest that an additional 20% of households across the district may be ‘on the edge of poverty’ – and thus less resilient to the downturn. More generally, the population is continuing to grow steadily. Latest figures estimate the resident population of Wakefield District at 325,570, making the District the 18th largest local authority in England and Wales. By 2032 it is estimated there will be an additional 47,600 people living in the District. Other key changes since the autumn 2011 State of the District Report include: • GCSE attainment levels are continuing to rise. In 2011, 57% of pupils taking GCSE’s achieved five or more passes at grades A*-C including English and maths, a similar result to that across England as a whole. • Participation in education post-16 is also increasing. The number of people going to university has gone up, but the rate remains below the national average. 3 • The overall number of new homes completed fell from 1,061 in 2010/11 to 878 in 2011/12, but the number of affordable homes completed rose from 258 to 345. It is predicted, however, that this trend will slow down as the National Affordable Housing Programme draws to a close and the replacement programme begins at a lower level. • The number of homelessness applications has been rising, from 463 in 2010/11 to 688 in 2011/12. • Overall, crime levels remain fairly static, with a rise of 1% in 2011/12. Within this headline, however, there was 12% fall in violent crime and a 16% increase in ‘other theft’, which includes shoplifting and a lot of the metal theft that is recorded. • There continue to be gradual improvements in life expectancy, although this is lower than the national average and there is variation around the District. • Survey data show perceptions of rubbish and litter lying around have improved (down from 49% to 44% of people saying this was a problem), as have perceptions of young people hanging around and being disruptive or a nuisance (down from 43% to 39% of people saying this was a problem). It has been over a year since the last decennial census was taken, but by the time this State of the District report is next refreshed (October 2012) the first 2011 Census data will have been published, analysis of this detailed resource will have begun and initial findings should be ready to be shared. 4 POPULATION PROFILE Wakefield District covers some 350 square kilometres and forms one of five districts which make up the county of West Yorkshire. The main centres of population are Wakefield city; the five towns of the north east (Pontefract, Castleford, Knottingley, Normanton and Featherstone); Ossett and Horbury in the west and Hemsworth, South Elmsall and South Kirkby in the south-east. There are also scattered villages in the open countryside. Overall, 70% of the district is designated as Green Belt. Population Size The size of the resident population of Wakefield District is estimated1 to be 325,570, making the District the 18th largest local authority in England and Wales (mid-2010 estimates). Recent changes to migration estimates58 suggest there may be a further 2,600 people resident in the district and this will be clarified when the 2011 census results start to be published in July 2012. As is typical nationally, the Wakefield age profile (Figure 1) shows the effect of baby-boom years of the 1950s and 1960s and greater numbers of women in older age than men. Overall numbers are projected to keep on increasing, albeit more slowly than elsewhere in the region, with improved life expectancy resulting in a greater proportion of the population being made up of people in older age groups (see outline in Figure 1). When compared with many other metropolitan (projection for 2032 outlined) districts Wakefield’s age profile has smaller than average proportions of people in the late-teen, early female male 20’s age bands. This reflects the absence of any 80 sizeable university presence within Wakefield 70 District. In large university cities such as Leeds, by contrast, increasing levels of participation in higher 60 education in recent decades have created a 50 population where 17.3% of people are aged 16-24, compared to 11.3% in Wakefield District. 40 30 Wakefield has a relatively small ethnic minority population. The 2001 census recorded that 96.7% 20 of people identified themselves as White British, 10 1.4% of people described their ethnicity as Asian or Asian British and 1.1% described their ethnicity as 0 White Irish or White Other.