North West decline continues - new research shows

Reporter: David Bartlett (RoFTRA)
Date online: 12/05/2008

Research by SIGOMA reported New Start magazine shows that the slow but serious economic decline of the North West is continuing.

Rochdale Council is one of 18 North West Councils in membership of SIGOMA - the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities with the Local Government Association - that also has 16 members in the North East and 10 in the Midlands. Its job is to represent the major towns and cities outside London.

Its latest research includes the following findings:

• Economic activity increased by 22.7% in SIGOMA areas, compared with a national average of 25.3%.
• Productivity in SIGOMA areas, measured by Gross Value Added per person, was £16,000 in 2004, the figure for London was £26,262.
• Employment in SIGOMA authorities was 70.2%, well below the national average of 75%.
• SIGOMA areas have only 31.4% of the working age population qualified to level four or above.
• SIGOMA councils face a £158m shortfall in funding over the next three years.

The report concludes that there needs to be investment in key areas such as education, transport and health to ensure that the economic potential of a local area is developed in a strategic way to suit the individual needs of the locality; there can be no one size fits all.