Sunderland and South Tyneside were on the very bottom rankings, with the average resident taking home just £502 a week in both areas. An LA7 report (7 Local Authorities in the North East) reveals low pay and inequality in the region.
The full list of weekly earnings by council area is as follows:
- North Tyneside: £554
- Northumberland: £526
- Newcastle: £524
- County Durham: £519
- Gateshead: £507
- South Tyneside: £502
- Sunderland: £502
The weekly earnings in Sunderland are significantly lower than the average. It is noted that even though a similar proportion of the working age population are in employment (73%), compared to the national average (76%), the weekly average earnings are significantly lower. South Tyneside, meanwhile, has a much lower employment rate of 65%.
Consequently, Councillor Paul Dean, lead member for voluntary sector, partnerships and equalities at South Tyneside Council is said to be calling for ‘urgent action’ to tackle the inequalities in pay in the region.
Dean was reported as saying:
“The findings of the LA7 report highlight the urgent need to tackle low pay and inequality in our region. Through our Anti-Poverty Strategy, we are taking targeted action to support residents, promote fair employment and ensure that no-one is left behind.
“Tackling poverty is not just about income – it’s about dignity, opportunity and health. We remain committed to building a fairer, more inclusive South Tyneside.”
It was further reported that Councillor Dean had also highlighted South Tyneside’s commitment to invest in skilled jobs through schemes like the relocation of Tyneside Coast College, and development of the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP). South Tyneside Council has previously stated that IAMP has been designed to attract private investment and 7,500 jobs in energy, aerospace, automotive, rail, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
According to the Shields Gazette, the Tyneside Coast College scheme will see the college move from its current Westoe site to a new 15,000 sqm campus in central South Shields. It was also noted in Sunderland Echo that:
“South Tyneside Council was also the first in the North East to launch a Child Poverty Strategy, which has seen families supported with the costs of school uniforms and meals, alongside other measures to alleviate struggling communities.”
A spokesperson from Sunderland City Council added:
“The city council is continuing to work with its private and public sector partners on helping to create jobs, attract investment, and on educational and training opportunities to help encourage wage growth. This includes major investment and job creation schemes such as at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP), plus tackling the inequalities that can come from lower wages.
“In 2023, Sunderland became the first city in the North East to be recognised as a Living Wage Place by the Living Wage Foundation and work is ongoing to help secure better wages for workers and see more money going into the local economy.”
North East and North Cumbria Health and Care Partnership
The North East and North Cumbria Health and Care Partnership has developed an Integrated Care Board Joint Forward Plan. As part of the plan, which was produced in March this year, the North East and North Cumbria Health and Care Partnership want to see:
- People in the region living longer and healthier lives and crucially, reducing the gap between our region and the England average in life expectancy.
- Healthy life with an increase in life expectancy at birth of at least 10% by 2030.
- Fairer outcomes for all citizens. Reduction in the inequality in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, between people living in the most deprived 20% of neighbourhoods in the region and the least deprived 20% – by at least 10% by 2030.
- Better services in health and care, and to ensure that not only are there high-quality services in the region, but they are of the same high-quality no-matter where you live and who you are.
- Children and young people being given the best start in life, with an increase in the percentage of children with good school readiness at reception, especially for children from disadvantaged groups.
Comment
Health inequalities across Britian are wide and have become ever wider in recent years. This is of course a direct result of the widening gap in incomes between regions, with a clear correlation between poverty and poor health. Indeed, it was noted last year by the Institute of Health Equity that:
“Poorer people [are] dying increasingly younger than richer people as ‘dismal’ life expectancy gap grows.”
The income figures for the seven council areas in the North East should be a wake-up call for many in both the region and for central government. For too long now, the North East has been neglected and an appropriate amount of investment denied to its people. This must end as a matter of urgency.
And if Rachel Reeves and others at the Treasury are not interested in helping to improve health outcomes for people in the North East, then they could always consider it as a political necessity to do so, especially since Reform UK seized County Durham Council in May.
The North East has shown a lot of loyalty to the Labour party in the last hundred years, even through the dark Thatcher days of the 1980s. It is now time for the favour to be returned, with a just transition and appropriate investment for the region, so that organisations such as the North East and North Cumbria Health and Care Partnership are able to mount a serious attempt at reaching the goals they set themselves in their report from March this year. At the same time, the threat from Reform could also be dealt with.
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