Stronger Towns: What Can the Census Tell Us?

Jemima Stockton , UCL
Tony Champion, Newcastle University
Oliver Duke-Williams, University College London

Various places in England will receive an economic from new UK government funding, the Stronger Towns Fund (STF). We used open data to construct a local authority (LA)-level Stronger Towns Index for England based on regional STF allocation criteria: productivity, income, skills, deprivation and proportion of population residing in towns. We grouped LAs into deciles according to their index rank and examined aggregate characteristics of LAs falling in each decile. Linking deciles to the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study (LS), we investigated inter-decile migration patterns from 2001 to 2011. All but one of the 32 LAs in Decile 1 (weakest LAs) were in the economically weaker regions. Almost half were coastal. Greater mobility of stronger places was evidenced by decile out-migration rates: the proportion leaving in 2001 was lowest for Deciles 1, 2 and 3 and highest for Deciles 8, 9 and 10. In-migration rates (proportion entering in 2011), showed a slight decline after peaking in Decile 6. The vast majority (62.2%) of leavers from Decile 1 in 2001 moved to the 3 next weakest deciles (2-4) whilst only 12% moved to the strongest (8-10). Social renters were more likely to move to Decile 2. Individuals were more likely to change housing tenure if they changed decile than if their decile was the same in 2001 and 2011. The weakest deciles have the least mobile populations. Next we will examine effect of leaving or entering a weaker decile on change in qualifications of LS members between 2001 and 2011.

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 Presented in Session 60. Urbanization and Mortality