Gloucester City Council

Committee : GLT Gloucester Partnership – Executive Meeting Cabinet Briefing Overview & Scrutiny Committee Cabinet

Date : 10th January 2012 12th January 2012 18th January 2012 30th January 2012 1st February 2012

Subject : Gloucester Deprivation Report 2011

Decision Type : Information

Ward : City Wide

Report By : Corporate Director Services & Neighbourhoods

No. Of Appendices : 1

Reference No. : N/A

1.0 Purpose of Report 1.1 To inform Cabinet of the current position regarding deprivation in the City and the

commitment given by the Gloucester Partnership to focus on addressing the deprivation issues in the City by establishing multi-agency working groups.

2.0 Recommendations

Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet are asked to RESOLVE:

2.1 That the content of this report be noted and that the approach being taken by the Gloucester Partnership for tackling deprivation in the city through a multi agency approach to priority setting, action planning and achievement of outcomes through working groups be endorsed.

Cabinet is asked to RESOLVE

2.2 That Cabinet receives regular updates on progress against the priorities in the City Vision action plan to ensure priorities are being achieved.

3.0 Background 3.1 Attempts to tackle the causes of deprivation have been a priority for successive

Governments over many years. However, the causes and subsequent symptoms of deprivation are complex, wide ranging and often beyond the control of any one organisation.

3.2 The indices of deprivation are measured by looking at various factors which include the level of income, employment, health, education, housing, quality of living environment, access to open space and crime within specific areas. The graphs at appendix 1 provide examples of the types of deprivation data currently available.

3.3 It is generally accepted that clusters of low income households are more

deprived. This lack of income then feeds other, wider, symptoms of deprivation such as poor health and educational attainment as residents do not have the financial means to access health and sport facilities or fund out of school activities or further learning.

3.4 In 2010 a review undertaken by Professor Marmot on health inequalities, „Fair

Society, Healthy Lives‟ suggests that the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age can lead to health inequalities. Therefore the levels of deprivation in an area will have a direct influence on the health of the population. The 2009/10 report by the Director of Public Health (DPH) for Gloucestershire states „Income is the most important modifiable determinant of health and is strongly related to health and wellbeing. People on low incomes are more likely to refrain from purchasing goods and services which maintain or improve health. In addition, those on low incomes are more likely to suffer from mental ill-health, social isolation and experience the highest rates of illness and early death.’

3.5 Gloucester is ranked 125 out of 326 in the deprivation index for local authority

areas in England. Four of its wards (Podsmead, Kingsholm and Wotton, Matson and Robinswood and Westgate) are ranked among the 10% most deprived in the country. This rank has improved since 2007 when Gloucester City ranked 118 but we need to bear in mind that data collection methods have also changed.

3.6 Tackling deprivation is a key element of the current Council plan, 2011-2014 and

as such an internal working group has been set up to look at the wide and varied issues of deprivation and to discuss how the City Council and its partners can work together to address them. The initial working group meeting looked over various pieces of data and covered a few areas of concern in detail. These included:

Financial Inclusion and the importance of income, employment and making the most of finances.

Worklessness and breaking the cycle of generational worklessness.

NEET‟s (Not in full time education, employment or training) and encouraging apprenticeships.

Low levels of NVQ level 4 in the City and low business density.

Housing quality, especially private sector rental properties.

Tackling the rising crime issues in the deprived areas and across the city.

Health and well being and its links to quality housing and income. 3.7 Following the recent disturbances in the City, Julian Wain, City Council CEO, has

taken a lead, under the support of the Local Resilience Forum, to consider the

community implications of the disorder and look at what additional work should be carried out with, and for, the community to strengthen pride in the City and to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

3.8 As a first step, views are being sought on the issues arising from the events on

9th August 2011, and any ideas for a solution. Following this gathering of ideas and evidence, the intention is to pull together a draft action plan that can be quickly consulted on before putting into practice.

3.9 The nature of the actions does depend on the issues raised, but as a general

principle the intention is to identify a small number of key strands of work, rather than many smaller activities which though worthy, may not deliver as much impact. This work will be considered along side the wider deprivation issues as some issues will undoubtedly be cross cutting.

3.10 As an example of the importance of targeted partnership intervention through

investment, between 2006 and 2011 Coventry City Council ran „Enterprising Coventry‟, an employment, inward investment and business growth project. The £19.67million project was a partnership between the City Council, Chamber of Commerce, and local voluntary groups and targeted Coventry‟s various deprived areas.

3.11 The programme ran employment advice through the Council and local suppliers

in the community and partnered Job Centre Plus in running a Jobs Bus which visited the most deprived areas of the City. 2,585 people were helped into sustained employment and a further 445 had work placements with local employers. Through the Chamber of Commerce and separate Inward Investment teams 1,954 new businesses came into the City which created 1,025 new jobs, many of these were given to those on the programme. A Social Return on Investment was carried out in 2009 and found that for every £1 spent, the benefits in terms of reduced spending on health, benefits, housing etc was £9.10.

3.12 Key lessons learnt from the project were that changing generational

worklessness in deprived areas takes time and that local delivery has a longer term impact on residents.

3.13 The following sections give a snap shot of Gloucester‟s current position with

regards to deprivation and highlight some of the actions taken to date along with ongoing and future work:-

a) Population

Gloucester has an estimated population of 119,700 that is set to grow to 154,300 by 2033. The age profile of Gloucester is varied, with Gloucester having the highest proportion of young people and people of working age compared to the rest of the county.

As mentioned earlier, Gloucester ranks 125 out of 326 in the deprivation index for local authority areas in England. Four of its wards (Podsmead, Kingsholm and Wotton, Matson and Robinswood and Westgate) are among the 10% most deprived in the country. The City also has 17 other Super Output Areas, which are among the 25% most deprived in the country. (Super Output Areas are a geographical area designed for the collection and publication of small area statistics, usually around 1,500 residents are in an output area). The Indices of Deprivation 2010 has identified five Super Output Areas in the City that appear in the national top 10%. These are: Podsmead 1; Matson and Robinswood 1; Westgate1 & 3 and Kingsholm and Wotton 3. An area of Podsmead ranks the highest of those in Gloucestershire at 809 (an increase from 886 in 2007) out of 32482. Similar areas appear in the national top 10% for Income Deprivation as well as Output areas in Tuffley, Barnwood, Moreland and Barton& Tredworth.

There are also a number of affluent areas in the City which rate in the bottom 10% nationally. These include: Longlevens, Elmbridge and Huccolecote. Gloucester is a multi-cultural city which has current and historic waves of migration. The black and minority ethnic population (BME) stands at 9.8%, which is almost comparable to Bristol - the highest in the southwest.

b) Crime

Crime in the City is the lowest it has been in years. However there has been a recent increase across all areas of crime except cycle theft. The table below indicates the changes across all areas.

Figure one: Update on increased offences (in %) compared to 2010/11, not all data has a total number but % indicate the rise.

This rise in crime is reflected nationally and the hot spots correlate to some of our deprived wards.

c) Health and Well-being

78% of residents in Gloucester City rate their health as “fair” or “good”. This is just below the figure for the rest of Gloucestershire (79.5%), and is above the average for England. The key Health issues for Gloucester as highlighted in the 2011 Health Profiles (produced by the Department of Health) are:- • The health of people in Gloucester is mixed compared to the England

average with life expectancy being 12 years lower for men and 9 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Gloucester.

• Deprivation is higher than average and 5,210 children live in poverty. • About 17% of Year 6 children are classified as obese. • 54.7% of pupils spend at least 3 hours each week on school sport. • Estimated levels of adult obesity are worse than the England average. • Figures show that alcohol and drug misuse is higher in Gloucester than the

England average. • Figures show that the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in

Gloucester is higher than the England average which is also significantly above the Gloucestershire rate.

• High levels of teenage pregnancy and the number of low birth weight babies in our deprived areas.

• Increased number of people suffering with anxiety and depression. • The City has a lower level of winter deaths compared to the rest of the

county. d) Economy

The Centre for cities, in its 2010 ranking of the economic performance for cities and towns across the UK which focused on the impact of the recession and the likely Public Sector cuts has categorised Gloucester as highly vulnerable. Gloucester featured 5th on a list of the 10 cities with the lowest private sector jobs growth since 1998, 11.5% lower then the national average (Source: New Start, February 2010). As Gloucester‟s population is predicted to grow the Competitiveness Index has shown that if Gloucester is going to improve its economic performance it must improve its business density rates i.e. attract more businesses into the City.

The unemployment rate within the City is still the highest in the County but lower than some comparator cities such as Worcester. The claimant rate in June 2011 was 3.5% with Westgate being the highest claiming ward with 7.1%.

4.5% of Gloucester‟s young population (16-18 age) would be considered NEET (June 2011).

Gloucester however does have an economic activity rate 1.3% above average as well as high rates of disposable income - household ownership in Gloucester is 5% above the national average. Average gross weekly earnings across the city are above average at £468 whilst the UK average is £457. There are, however, pockets of the City that do not earn this average amount. In some areas of the City it would take a loan 7.6 times a person‟s/couple‟s (??) annual income to secure an entry-level property of their own. (Department for Work and Pensions 2009).

National studies suggest that there may be 1560 households within the City with no bank account and that 4690 households have no current account which makes paying bills etc. harder and more expensive. The most worrying figure is there have been 480 people in the city who are borrowing money illegally from loan sharks. (Department for Work and Pensions 2009).

e) Environment and housing

Gloucester‟s natural environment includes 17 parks and 141 smaller parks, rest garden areas and public open spaces. There are 7 designated Local Nature Reserves and two Sites of Significant Interest – Robinswood Hill and Hucclecote Hay Meadow.

House prices and rents are the lowest in the County but it is important to note that income levels are also lower. A privately rented, entry level one bedroom property costs £380 a month, market costs research suggest that an income of £17/18,000 a year is required. A similar social rented property would cost £244 a month on a basic income of £12/13,000 a year.

30.7% of households have a mean income of below £20k a year and only 6.9% of households earn more than £70k.

The Housing Needs and Demands report suggests that 40% of all new houses built need to be affordable, with 32% of this being social. The highest areas of upcoming demand seem to be couples with no children (32%) and single people living alone (not pensioner age, 23%) which reflects our rising working age population demographic.

18.8% of households in Gloucester have residents with supported needs e.g. disability, elderly etc.

The Emerging issues highlighted in the 2011 Private Sector House Condition Survey are as follows:

Underlying growth and continued poor condition of private rented sector

High level of category 1 hazards within the Moreland and Westgate areas compared to the rest of the city

High levels of disrepair and its impact particularly on the private rented sector and on the pre-1919 terraced and converted flat markets in Barton and Tredworth, Moreland and Westgate

High levels of owner-occupied equity and encouraging levels of owner-occupied interest in Council interest free (repayable) loans

In a report produced by the Director of Public Health in 2009/10 the following issue was raised:– ‘Exposure to air pollutants may lead to short term health effects such as reduced visibility, headaches, allergic reactions, irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, and longer term effects such as breathing difficulties, asthma and various chronic respiratory illnesses (including lung cancer) and heart disease.’ As a result, In Gloucester, we have declared 3 Air Quality Management Areas. Improving the air quality in AQMA‟s will lead to health improvements for commuters and people living in these areas. The AQMA‟s are in:- Barton Street between Bruton Way & Upton Street (Barton & Tredworth) Priory Road – Including St Oswalds Road from Mount Street to the railway bridge

and Priory Road House numbers 46-72 (Westgate) Painswick Road from Eastern Avenue House numbers 70-110 on the west side

(Matson & Robinswood) & 51-99 on the East (Barnwood) 4.0 Progress 4.1 The internal working group met on August 1st 2011, 1st September 2011 and 8th

November 2011 to discuss the key matters arising from the above data. Key themes emerged which will now be researched further and areas that can be directly influenced by the City Council, indirectly influence and areas where we will need to work with partners to deliver actions will be drawn up.

4.2 There is already significant work being done by the City Council and through the

Gloucester Partnership. These include: a) Economic

The Gloucester Partnership looked to tackle issues of income by drawing up a Financial Inclusion Action Plan. This delivered:

Loan Shark Training to frontline staff to help spot and report loan shark activity;

supported the Credit Union to go County Wide and increase its membership;

work with groups to promote basic banking and the benefits of paying by direct debit;

organised multi agency Roadshows which covered benefits, CV writing and employment advice;

debt counselling;

adult learning and housing in community locations. This work was supported by GCH Financial Inclusion manager and their tenant Financial Inclusion Champions who support other residents, Citizens Advice and Debt sessions have also been run from GCH.

Gloucester City Council‟s Welfare Rights Service generated over £1 million in Benefits to Gloucester City and Forest of Dean in 2010/11. This was actual money in people‟s pockets.

Providing Welfare Advice in GP Surgeries in partnership with NHS Gloucestershire. This work is ongoing and aims to reduce health and improve people‟s quality of life.

Coordinating the Countywide Benefit Forum, which has 30-40 agencies coming together to tackle health and poverty.

Supporting families who are suffering hardship through redundancies, debt, house repossession etc

Working with family centres to help families access Welfare Benefits.

In addition, Gloucester City Council‟s Economic Development teamhas been focusing on jobs, enterprise and training and skills. Examples include; o Quays creative – offering a fantastic incubator facility for 20 fledgling

businesses to date o Gloucester Means Business Grants Scheme – assisting 18 businesses o Business start up training – 26 businesses attended so far

b) Housing

633 households were saved from being made homeless in 2010/11 through tenancy rescue payments, access to alternative accommodation and advice.

Housing Strategy & Enabling recently undertook a piece of work called „Changing Demand‟ which evaluated a range of demographic evidence; deprivation data, GCH asset information; social housing levels and land availability. Discussions with internal stakeholders identified six wards where regeneration activities would be beneficial, those were:- Barnwood; Barton & Tredworth; Matson & Robinswood; Kingsholm & Wotton; Podsmead and Westgate. For shorter term focus, Matson & Robinswood and Podsmead were thought to offer greater scope to achieve best outcomes. The current Housing Options review will look to address regeneration opportunities.

The Strategy team will be working with partners to ensure that suitable accommodation and support exists for older or vulnerable people, to ensure they are appropriately supported in their own homes and can readily access health and care services to maintain good health and wellbeing.

The Strategy team will also be undertaking further work to understand the effects of the current market downturn and the effect on younger people in accessing accommodation. It is well documented that the effects of unemployment at a young age can be long-standing and affect lifetime potential, and so where young people are unable to remain at home or enter higher education, it is important to ensure options exist for support in suitable

accommodation; with access to training, further education or apprenticeships; and life-skills, to maximize their ability to enter the job market and live independently.

In addition, the Strategy team will be exploring how best to work with Partners to encourage energy-efficient improvements in existing homes, to minimize households falling into fuel poverty due to rising energy costs.

Continued targeted assistance for maintenance of private sector housing to those most in need by way of Disabled facilities grants and interest free housing repair / improvement grants.

To administer the fit to rent scheme to ensure that private rented accommodation complies with the HHSRS standard.

A Private Sector House Condition Survey was undertaken earlier this year (2011), the results of this survey will now be used to better target our resources to give the greatest impact.

c) Health

We are building our opportunities to work in partnership with the County Council Public Health Team, Aspire, Gloucester City Homes and others to increase our impact and improve the health of people in Gloucester. By working together our work will be better coordinated. For example an event for World Environmental Health Day included The Public Health team, the Smoking Cessation service, GP Practices, Environmental Health, Spatial Planning and Environment and Aspire. By including all these agencies we will reach more people and have a greater impact.

As mentioned earlier, income is the most important modifiable determinant of health and is strongly related to health and wellbeing. People on low incomes are more likely to refrain from purchasing goods and services which maintain or improve health. In addition, those on low incomes are more likely to suffer from mental ill-health, social isolation and experience the highest rates of illness and early death. By working with benefits and by making grants and interest free loans available to those most in need so as to increase money available to help make healthy choices.

To work with Public Health and other agencies to improve healthy life styles in particular with regard to: o Healthy eating o Smoking cessation o Alcohol and substance abuse o Active life styles o Reduce obesity o Reduce rate of diagnosis of diabetes o Reduce income deprivation

To work with employers to promote healthy life styles for their employers and for the City Council to lead by example.

To work to improve the air quality in the City in particular by reducing pollution in the City‟s AQMA‟s.

To continue to work with the Police to respond to and act on complaints of noise nuisance to secure a resolution so as to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of Gloucester residents.

d) Crime

Working with the Police, GCH, project Solace and communities to reduce crime and the fear of crime through appropriate use of powers: o Use of Designated Public Places Orders to stop nuisance drinking in

public places o Use of Gating Orders to stop anti-social behaviour down alleyways where

all other approaches have been unsuccessful o To take appropriate action to stop and prevent statutory nuisance and

anti-social behaviour

Working with the County Council public health team and other partners to reduce crime that is linked with alcohol and substance abuse.

Ensure that the objectives of the Licensing Act 2003 are complied with by licensed establishments in the City and that action is taken when appropriate.

To work with the Police, Trading Standards and the County Council to target and reduce underage drinking.

To work with the Police and businesses to promote sensible drinking campaigns and reduce the effects of drinks promotions

To build stronger links with communities encouraging responsibility, help build strong and cohesive communities recognising diversity & encourage community participation.

5.0 Future Work 5.1 The internal working group, which includes representation from Gloucester City

Homes, have analysed and collated current data and identified through mapping significant trends.

5.2 This information is being used to inform internal services such as benefits,

housing, economic development and environmental health, of areas of work where the City Council can have the largest impact in tackling deprivation.

5.3 The information will also be used to influence priorities and determine the

direction of the Gloucester Partnership. 5.4 In line with the current Council plan, Transforming Your City, and the City Vision,

conversations are also taking place with Partners such as the Police, NHS Gloucestershire, Dept for Work and Pensions, Skills Funding Agency, University of Gloucestershire & Gloucestershire College, Chamber of Commerce, Voluntary & Community Sector and housing providers to see where we can direct funding to tackle issues of shared concern. This work will also link to the issues arising from the consultation being undertaken by the LRF following the disturbances in Gloucester on August 9th.

5.5 Work will continue to support businesses via grants, development of the enterprise allowance scheme, apprenticeships, incubator support and other business focused activities.

6.0 Conclusions 6.1 Gloucester‟s level of deprivation has not changed dramatically over the last three

years. There are still some areas of the City that are suffering various inequalities especially around income, housing and employment.

6.2 There are several areas where the City Council can have a direct effect on

improving the lives of our residents and further areas, where through partnership working, we can influence and develop partner strategies.

6.3 It is important to note that small scale, targeted investment in one strand of the

identified indices is unlikely to have any significant impact on the current levels of deprivation in the city due to the complexity of the situation, the priorities of other partner agencies and the lack of funding available.

6.4 Evidence from previous SRB (Single Regeneration Budget) schemes and other

similar small scale projects often bring short term environment and economic improvements but fail to make long term changes to the wider indices of deprivation.

6.5 A working group or set of working groups formed under the guidance and

supervision of the Gloucester Partnership can analyse the information in this report and further data sources and report back their findings and formulate an action plan.

7.0 Financial Implications 7.1 None associated with this report at this time. 8.0 Legal Implications 8.1 As mentioned in the report, the Council has a range of powers and duties which

are relevant to the Council‟s role in helping to tackle deprivation within the City, such as the Council‟s homelessness duties, licensing functions and economic development responsibilities and powers. Effective use of these powers and duties will help to achieve the targets and outcomes of Gloucester Partnership.

9.0 Risk Management Implications (Authors to complete) Identify all key risks

(scoring 8 and above) for the recommendation including the impact and likelihood of the risk occurring and what measures will be taken to mitigate the risk.

9.1 No risk management issues at this time.

10.0 People Impact Assessment (PIA): Please ensure you complete this section even if a PIA is not required.

Is a PIA required?

Yes No Explanation: This report is for information only, any further work in this area will have an independent PIA.

X

Has an initial PIA screening been completed?

Yes No Explanation:

Has a full PIA been completed?

Yes No Explanation:

Is the PIA available?

Yes No Explanation:

Has the PIA identified any negative impacts on any protected characteristic or community cohesion?

Yes* No *Please ensure PIA is available

Any Further Relevant Information:

N/A

11.0 Other Corporate Implications (this may include Community Safety, Environmental, Staffing, Trade Union)

N/A Background Papers : Published Papers : Person to Contact : Martin Shields Tel: 396745

E-mail: Martin.Shields@gloucester.gov.uk

Appendix 1

Multiple Deprivations

Based on Maiden Deprivation Profiles 2009

Income: Amount £ per household, per year.

Free School Meals: Number of Children receiving Free School Meals.

Crime and Disorder by District (2010): Red column is the number of residents who live in top

10% nationally for Crime and Disorder.

All Victims of Crime: Most recent SOA level statistics for all Victims of Crime (update from

Maiden expected 2011)

Tobacco and Alcohol Spend: Weekly spend £

Children in Need: Based on most up to date SOA information – 2009

Claimant Rate by Ward: July 2011, County Average is 2.5%

Countywide Deprivation: 2010 at a glance.