Key Changes for Blackpool:

The following highlights are some of the key challenges that Blackpool is facing...

The Local Economy

• reduced visitor numbers by some 2 million since 2002, a reduction in stay from 5 days to 2 days overall tourism related revenue between 2002/06;
• lack of private sector investment as a consequence of declining visitor numbers and falling confidence;
• declining quality of the visitor offer within a tired and outdated infrastructure and urban environment;
• low Gross Value Added (GVA) per head at 67% of the UK level (23rd poorest position in UK);
• the lowest average wage in the UK (earning £86 per week less than the North West average and £105 less than the national average) in a labour market characterised by seasonality and a low proportion of higher paid occupations;
• high levels of worklessness (23% of the working age population claiming a work related benefit);
• large numbers of residents claiming incapacity benefits, over 13% of all working age, the 14th highest proportion of claimants in the UK.

Housing, Neighbourhoods & Environment

• acute and accelerating housing market imbalance, driven by the declining trade in hotels and guest houses;
• nearly half of Blackpool’s Houses in Multiple Occupation are in the 4 central wards which have: a high proportion of housing benefits recipients housed in former holiday accommodation; Sub-standard housing conditions, promoting overcrowding in inner Blackpool, worsening persistent problems such as long-term ill health and child poverty;
• high levels of violent crime of which 52% is alcohol related and 16.9% is domestic abuse related;
• the perception of crime remains high amongst residents, despite overall crime reducing by 6% in 2007, acquisitive crime reducing by almost one-third and criminal damage reducing by 15%;
• above the national average of first time entrants to the youth justice system and a higher number of young offender’s re-offending
• in 2006/07 Blackpool recorded more incidents of antisocial behaviour than any other area in Lancashire
• issues of cohesion focus on transience, and the role played by the private rented sector and its influence on the stability of communities
• issue of street cleanliness has been prioritised by our citizen’s;
• environmental risks which, if not tackled, will become a threat to both current and future generations.

 Skills and Education

• average levels of educational attainment at the end of the primary phase, and lower levels of educational attainment than national averages at Key Stage 3,
  GCSE level and A-level;
• high levels of population mobility prevalent in Blackpool impact disproportionately on children and young people. The annual turnover of pupils in some schools can be as high as 30% and transient pupils consistently under-perform in comparison to stable pupils;
• over 20% of the working age population in Blackpool have no qualifications, compared to a national average of 14%, and a lower than average proportion possess Level’s 2, 3 and 4 plus qualifications
• 75% of Blackpool’s 16 and 17 year olds were participating in further education or work-based learning compared to 81% in the North West in 2005;
• low levels of numeracy skills with a reliance on benefits has led to an increasing amount of debt for some individuals.

Health and Well-Being

• the 2nd lowest life expectancy for men (England and Wales 2006) and a worsening position for women;
• suicide rates are twice the national average for men;
• the death rate from smoking is higher in Blackpool than in the North West and England averages along with the highest alcohol-related death rate in the UK;
• high levels of multiple drug use with the highest problematic heroin and/or cocaine use in the North West;
• issue around vulnerability for proportion of adults living over 85 years of age as Blackpool has a higher proportion of single pensioner households
• 13.2% of working age adults are claiming Incapacity Benefit, with 80% of these being long-term claimants and with over 40% claiming due to ‘mental and
  behavioural’ reasons;
• children under five have higher incidences of decay, fillings and missing teeth when compared with the average for England;
• lower than regional average percentage of babies are breastfed at birth (45% in Blackpool in 2005/06 compared to 66% for the North West and 78% for England);
• 2nd highest teenage pregnancy rates in England.