Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty …...Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty Needs Assessment Refresh | October 2014 Table of Contents • Aims and Actions •

Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty Needs Assessment Refresh | October 2014

Liverpool City Region

Child and Family Poverty

Needs Assessment Refresh 2014


Table of Contents

• Aims and Actions

• Key Messages

• Child & Family Poverty Headline Figures

• National Policy Context: Welfare Reform

• Aim 1 - “Ensure the best possible start in life for children and young people to improve their life chances”

- Support effective parenting, families and drive improvements in Foundation Years services

- Enhance children’s social and emotional development and reduce gaps in educational achievement

- Promote prevention and early intervention approaches to reduce health inequalities

- Influence an improvement in the quality of place and support strong communities

• Aim 2 - “Maximise family income”

- Improve access to suitable financial services and support families to make good financial decisions

- Optimise employment opportunities by removing barriers to good quality and sustainable employment

- Support parents to progress in the workplace

• Appendix A – Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty Matrix


Aims and Actions

“Working together as City Region partners we will reduce child and family poverty and maximise opportunities for children

and young people in their life chances. We will achieve this through a dual strategy which ensures an ever growing

proportion of children and young people are ready for school and life whilst maximising family resources”

Aim 1 Ensure the best possible start in life for children and

young people to improve their life chances

Aim 2 Maximise family income

Support effective

parenting, families and

drive improvements

in Foundation Years Services

Enhance children’s social and emotional

development and reduce

gaps in educational

achievement

Promote prevention and early

intervention approaches to reduce

health inequalities

Influence an improvement in the quality of place and

support strong

communities

Improve access to suitable financial

services and support

families to make good

financial decisions

Optimise employment opportunities by removing barriers to

good quality and

sustainable employment

Support parents to

progress in the

workplace


Key Messages

This is a refresh of the Liverpool City Region Child Poverty and Life Chances Needs Assessment. It draws out the key

changes and emerging issues since the Needs Assessment was first published in 2011 and refreshed in 2013.

The latest child poverty data (2012) shows that there are fewer children living in poverty in the Liverpool City Region than there were in 2008. However evidence suggests that the UK's falling median income during the same period is a distorting factor in this, as the 'poverty line' itself has fallen also.

Welfare reforms, years of flat wage growth, rising childcare costs, and the rising cost of living have resulted in many families struggling to make ends meet. Poorer families are also being hit by a ‘poverty premium’ i.e. paying a higher price for goods and services.

There are an increasing number of families living just above the poverty line, with many families having less disposable income. These families are referred to as living in ‘Hidden Poverty’.

“Despite a national cross party commitment to end child poverty by 2020, new projections show that the numbers living in poverty in the UK could increase by 1.4 million in the same period, a rise of 41% on the 3.6 million children currently living in poverty” Save the Children 2014

The number of children living in relative poverty in the UK, after housing costs has risen by 100,000 to 3.7 million between 2013 and 2014. DWP: Households Below Average Income


Key Messages

A suite of performance indicators is monitored and the following are examples of what has improved and what has deteriorated since the last Needs Assessment refresh in 2013: 77% of the indicators in the City Region’s basket of measures show improvement including:

• Children on Free School Meals are achieving higher Key Stage 2 results than the national average Free School Meal cohort.

• More children are being immunised at ages 2 and 5. • Breastfeeding initiation has continued to improve. • There are fewer Jobseekers Allowance and Lone Parent claimants. • There are fewer families living in households defined as living in fuel poverty.

20% of the indicators in the City Region’s basket of measures show deterioration including:

• More children are measured as being obese at Reception and Year 6.

• The proportion of the working age population in part-time employment is increasing whilst full-time employment is on the decline. In addition to this the average hourly rate for part-time work is considerably lower than the full-time hourly rate.

• Children on Free School Meals are underachieving at Key stage 4 in comparison to the national average Free School Meal cohort.


Child and Family Poverty Headline Figures

The current child poverty measure defines child poverty as ‘the proportion of children living in families in receipt of out-of-work (means-tested) benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent of median income’. DWP’s Households Below Average Income analysis calculates the 2012/13 median income before housing costs to be £440 per week. This means that the 60% median income and poverty threshold for 2012/13 was approximately £264 per week and has fallen in each of the last four years.

The number of children and young people assessed as living in poverty in the Liverpool City Region (LCR) in August 2012 was 82,135. This suggests there are 4,415 fewer children living in poverty in the City Region compared to 2011 (5.1% fall) and 7,650 fewer than in 2008 (8.5% fall). However, the falling median income level in each of the last four years means that the poverty threshold is also falling, leading to the potential for people to be pulled out of poverty without any increase in their own income. The following information provides a snapshot of the nature of poverty in the City Region:

• The majority of children in poverty (62,590) live in lone parent families (76%), this is higher than the England average (70%)

• A higher proportion of children living in poverty in the LCR (89%) live in households claiming Income Support (IS) or Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), compared to the England average (84%)

• In the LCR 32% of children living in poverty (26,565) are under age 5, this is similar to the England average (33%). The 0-4 age group is the only group where children living in poverty has continued to increase (2010 – 26,390, 2011 – 26,470, 2012 – 26,565), whereas all the other age groups have decreased.

89,785 Children & young people in poverty

(27.6%)


(27.6%)


(27.2%)

86,550 Children & young people in poverty (26.8%)

82,135 Children & young people in poverty (25.5%)

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 FIG A: Number of Children in Poverty, 2008 – 2012. HMRC

Age of child - 0-4 Age of child - 5-10 Age of child - 11-15 Age of child - 16-19

2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012

Knowsley 3,360 3,280 3,325 3,505 3,455 3,335 2,900 2,785 2,625 1,715 1,620 1,305

Liverpool 8,905 9,040 9,315 9,595 9,360 8,965 8,030 7,570 7,030 4,540 4,435 3,705

St. Helens 3,070 3,110 3,085 2,910 2,935 2,905 2,375 2,250 2,070 1,175 1,125 965

Sefton 3,255 3,360 3,375 3,540 3,480 3,285 3,025 2,930 2,680 1,665 1,585 1,370

Wirral 5,305 5,275 5,060 5,310 5,250 5,065 4,255 3,935 3,620 2,280 2,205 1,880

Halton 2,495 2,405 2,405 2,420 2,375 2,255 1,855 1,835 1,705 1,030 955 820

LCR Total 26,390 26,470 26,565 27,280 26,855 25,810 22,440 21,305 19,730 12,405 11,925 10,045


Child and Family Poverty Headline Figures

Figure B shows the number and percentage of children and young people in poverty across the Liverpool City Region’s six local authorities and identifies that all of the areas have higher rates of Child Poverty than the national average (18.6%).

To further explore these geographical trends, the map on the following page shows the distribution of child poverty at Super Output Area across the Liverpool City Region. The areas shaded in dark brown contain some of the highest concentrations of poverty. Liverpool and Wirral both contain neighbourhoods where more than 60% of children are growing up in poverty. This indicates that whilst Wirral has the second lowest level of overall child poverty in the City Region, the borough contains pockets where deprivation is high.

Borough Number of Children in Poverty

% of Children in Poverty

Halton 7,185 24.7%

Knowsley 10,590 29.8%

Liverpool 29,015 31.0%

Sefton 10,705 19.2%

St Helens 9,020 23.7%

Wirral 15,620 22.4%

Liverpool City Region 82,135 25.5%

FIG B: Number and Proportion of Children in Poverty, Aug 2012. HMRC

The End Child Poverty campaign has produced an alternative set of child poverty statistics at the local level (see Figure C) by combining recent worklessness data from 2013 with the 2011 HMRC child poverty data. The measure aims to provide a more up to date local picture of poverty in the UK. The data is provided for child poverty before and after housing costs are taken into account. The estimates paint a very different picture of poverty across the City Region to that which the official figures suggest, with just 17% of children deemed to be in poverty before housing costs are taken into account, rising to 27.2% after housing costs. This implies that the official measure is overestimating the number of children in poverty by assuming that everyone on out-of-work benefits is in poverty, whilst barely picking up on trends of ‘in-work’ poverty. This also implies that the cost of housing is a contributing factor for 38% of the total number children in poverty in the City Region.

% children in poverty

Borough Before housing costs

After housing costs

Halton 16.8% 26.9%

Knowsley 18.4% 29.5%

Liverpool 20.3% 32.1%

Sefton 14.3% 23%

St Helens 16.5% 26.3%

Wirral 15.8% 25.3%

Liverpool City Region 17% 27.2%

FIG C: End Child Poverty campaign 2014 - Proportion of children in poverty


Child and Family Poverty in the Liverpool City Region by LSOA

% children living in poverty


National Policy Context: Welfare Reform

Reforms to the welfare system since 2012, coupled with the economic downturn since 2008 have had a significant impact upon th e lives of many families, including the most vulnerable and those living in poverty.

Since April 2013, funding for council tax support has been reduced by 10%, social housing under-occupation penalty introduced, benefit cap implemented, and Disability Living Allowance has begun to be replaced with the less-generous Personal Independence Payment. This has meant, for many families across the Liverpool City Region, a reduction in the amount of benefit they receive, particularly for tenants affected by the under-occupation penalty. Universal Credit is scheduled to be introduced across the City Region from summer 2014 onward, and the effect on household finances will need to be closely monitored.

Some attempts have been made to quantify the impacts of welfare reform in England and it is estimated that the income of households claiming benefit will be on average lower by £1,615 a year in 2015/16 than in 2013. A report published in April 2013 by the Centre for Regional Economic & Social Research “Hitting the poorest hardest” has suggested that Local Authorities within the Liverpool City Region will be some of the hardest hit by welfare reforms during 2014/15. The report estimates a total financial loss of £651 million per year In the Liverpool City Region.

Overall impact of welfare reforms by 2014/15

Local Authority

Ranked (out of top

50)

Loss per working age adult £ p.a.

Knowsley 3 800 Liverpool 8 700 Wirral 27 640 St.Helens 29 630 Halton 36 620 Sefton n/a -

According to the report, by 2015 in the Liverpool City Region:

48,800 households will be affected by reforms to Local housing Allowance;

29,400 households will be affected by the social housing under-occupation penalty;

960 households will be affected by the benefit cap;

123,300 households will be affected by the Council Tax benefit cut;

25,900 individuals will be affected by changes to disability Living Allowance;

54,400 individuals will be affected by incapacity benefit reforms.

Variation across each Liverpool City Region local authority area is highlighted in the table above by comparison with estimated overall financial loss per working age adult per year. The rankings show that Knowsley and Liverpool are in the top ten local authorities with the highest estimated loss per working age adult.



Merseyside Housing Associations working together - Impact of the ‘bedroom tax’ A group of Liverpool City Region housing associations conducted a one year study of the ‘bedroom tax’ between April 2013 and April 2014. The ‘bedroom tax’ policy sees housing benefit cut for working-age social housing tenants if they are considered to have a ‘spare’ bedroom. Tenants lose 14 per cent of the benefit for one ‘spare’ bedroom, which has meant an average loss of £12.31 a week in the City Region. Tenants lose 25 per cent for two or more ‘spare’ bedrooms – an average of £22 a week in the City Region. According to the study, by March 2014, 18,722 tenants of the housing associations involved in the study had been affected by the ‘bedroom tax’, and rent arrears had increased by 35%. Residents affected are now in average rent arrears of £374 - up from £276 in 2013. The study also found that the Government’s hope that people would move to smaller properties hasn’t materialised in the Liverpool City Region. While some have been able to downsize, this is impossible for the majority, as there remains a severe shortage of smaller homes across the Liverpool City Region.

Potential impacts of welfare reform It is believed that changes to the welfare system and the economic recession in the UK are having, and will have, a variety of impacts:

Reduced income from benefits for both working and non-working households across a range of reforms to the welfare system, and increased risk of poverty, debt and rent arrears;

Increased cost of living not being matched by increasing wages, and increased risk of debts;

Increased risk of business going bust;

Reduced availability of jobs. Young people in particular have been badly affected as they compete for fewer employment opportunities with more experienced and more qualified candidates;

Increased number of people in poorly paid, part-time, short-term and unstable employment;

Increased demand for front line services. Universal Credit Universal credit is currently being rolled out across the City Region, and will merge all means tested benefits and tax credits into a single payment. Payments will be made monthly rather than weekly, which means there is a risk that some families may find it difficult to manage their finances across a month long period. Housing benefit will also form part of Universal Credit and will be paid directly to tenants rather than to their landlord. Tenants with low financial capabilities could struggle to make payments, leading to rent arrears and potential evictions.



Although new Universal Credit claims are initially restricted to single, unemployed people without children, this directly impacts on the number of new Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) claims (and therefore the overall JSA count across the city region). This means that future JSA counts will underestimate the amount of jobseekers in the city region. Office of National Statistics is currently working to provide a unified statistical measure for claimant counts and are hoping to develop a version of the overall ‘jobseeker’ count which will become the default measure for unemployment.

Cost of food The cost of food nationally and across the Liverpool City Region has continued to rise, though the rate at which it is increasing is slowing down. The cost of food in April 2014 was 0.5% more than in April 2013. To put this in context an item of food that cost £1 in April 2013, would cost £1.05 12 months later. Meat and fish accounts for the main upward pressures on food prices, however the cost of vegetables has actually fallen in each of the first three months of 2014. In April 2013 the list of goods monitored totaled £195.86 and increased to £197.90 over the next 12 months.

The Emergence of Foodbanks In response to economic pressures, the UK has seen a huge increase in foodbanks in recent years. Foodbanks are community-based projects, often co-ordinated by community groups or faith organisations, where food is donated by local people, stored locally and distributed to local people in need. Foodbanks are a service of last resort for people living in poverty. There are difficulties in collecting robust data for the number of people accessing foodbanks right across the City Region due to different reporting arrangements between foodbanks, though individual studies have made estimates. According to the ‘Merseyside Housing Associations’ working together study on the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’, at least 14,300 people were helped by their housing associations to access financial advice. This includes 553 referrals to foodbanks since April 2013. It is believed that this figure is just the tip of the iceberg. For example the number of residents being fed overall at Knowsley foodbank has risen by 93% to more than 6,000 over the last year – 44% of them children. Meanwhile, North Liverpool Foodbank has seen a 67% increase in the number of people it has fed, to 7,129 over the last year, compared with 4,256 the year before. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are a significant number of children across the Liverpool City Region who qualify for free school meals and turn up for school without having eaten a meal since the day before. This not only has an impact on those children’s ability to wo rk effectively at school, but means that there is a risk that they go hungry during school holidays. Some families who are on a financial edge during term time and who qualify for free school meals find that having to feed their children during the summer holidays tips them over the edge. Evidence from the Trussell Trust suggests that foodbanks across the country have seen a rise in demand during the summer holidays.

Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty Needs Assessment Refresh |October 2014

Aim 1: Ensure the best possible start in life for children and young people to improve their life chances

Action 1: Support effective parenting, families and drive improvements in Foundation Years services

The Foundation Years (from pregnancy to age 5) are a time of rapid development and experiences during this age can have a major impact on future life chances. Studies suggest that early years interventions can mitigate against the impacts of growing up in poverty and help children to develop the social and emotional bedrock they need to secure a positive future.

Tax-free childcare

Childcare is essential for working families. Not only does good quality early years education and care help support child development, but affordable childcare enables parents to go out to work – or work more hours – supporting overall family incomes. As childcare costs have risen by 37% in the last five years, this is a crucial area. Department for Education survey data shows that nearly a quarter of employed mothers would increase their working hours if they could arrange good quality childcare which was convenient, reliable and affordable.

The government is introducing a ‘tax-free childcare scheme’ that will be available to children under the age of 5 from autumn 2015, and all working parents with children under 12 will be covered within the first year. Disabled children up to age 16 will also be eligible, in line with existing childcare rules. The new scheme will be available to working families who each earn less than £150,000 a year, and don’t already receive support through Tax Credits or Universal Credit. In two parent families, both parents must be in work to qualify.

For every 80p eligible families pay in, 20p will be paid by the government, providing support of up to £2,000 a year for each child. Parents will be able to use the vouchers for any Ofsted regulated childcare in England and the equivalent bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The scheme will be open to almost 2 million families and will be delivered by HMRC.

Analysis published by various think tanks suggests that parents may be £2,000 worse off a year from 2018, because the increase of childcare costs for families with two children will outpace the Government’s planned tax relief. Research by the Institute of Public Policy Research suggests that the scheme will not make childcare costs more affordable and that the proportion of a family’s income spent on childcare will increase from 25.4% in 2013 to 27.8% in 2018.

http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/MIS-2013

http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/MIS-2013



Action 1: Support effective parenting, families and drive improvements in Foundation Years services Quality of Childcare

Providing children with good-quality education and care in their earliest years can help them succeed at school and later in life. This contributes to creating a society where opportunities are equal regardless of background. Figure E below shows that 84% of children in the Liverpool City Region who attend funded early education attend good or outstanding settings. The Nutbrown review of early education and childcare qualifications stressed the importance of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in early years settings and called for an increase in the number of teachers with specialist early years knowledge. Figure F shows the percentage of private, voluntary and independent providers with staff with qualified teacher status, or early years professional status (EYPS) who work directly with 3 and 4 year olds. Whilst Figure F shows an increase from 2013 to 2014 in all local authorities across the Liverpool City Region, there is a wide variation with Halton being the lowest (18%), and Knowsley being the highest (73%).

Local Authority

Ofsted Inspection Rating as at January 2014

Outstanding %

Good %

Satisfactory/Requires Improving %

Inadequate %

England 20 56 13 2

North West 21 58 12 1

Halton 17 60 17 5

Knowsley 17 72 11 0

Liverpool 19 61 11 3

Sefton 21 66 9 0

St Helens 24 63 9 2

Wirral 21 63 11 1

LCR average 20 64 11 3

% of Providers with staff with QTS/EYPS who work directly with 3- and 4-year-olds

2013 2014

England 39 48

North West 43 53

Halton 14 18

Knowsley 59 73

Liverpool 44 54

Sefton 42 47

St Helens 37 48

Wirral 53 61

FIG F

FIG E: Proportion of 3 and 4-year-old children attending funded early education by Ofsted inspection ratings (January 2014)

Childcare Provision The Family and Childcare Trust national Annual Childcare Costs Survey 2014 found that the England regional average cost of childcare (25 hrs) for under 2 year olds is currently around £110.95 per week. This shows an increase of 26 per cent since 2010 (£88)), and 7 per cent since 2012 (£103.19).



Action 1: Support effective parenting, families and drive improvements in Foundation Years services School Readiness The Cabinet Office’s 2010 paper, “The Foundation Years: preventing poor children becoming poor adults” found that good quality early-years education can give children a significant advantage in terms of their cognitive development.

A new Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) was introduced in September 2012. Children have been deemed to have reached a good level of development in the new profile if they achieve at least the expected level in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) in the prime areas of learning (personal, social and emotional development; physical development; and communication and language) and in the specific areas of mathematics and literacy.

In 2013, on average 50% of LCR children achieved a ‘good level of development’; this was equal to North West, but slightly lower than the England average of 52%. In addition to this measure the gap in attainment between FSM-eligible children and non-FSM eligible is monitored, with the LCR average being 20% points gap in 2013. This is slightly less than the North West average (21%), but slightly wider than the England average (19%). The table above shows levels of variation across the six boroughs. In order to help tackle these inequalities, the Government’s ‘two-year-old offer’ allows all children in the country’s 20% most deprived areas free access to 15 hours of early education a week; this has been extended to the 40% most deprived areas as from September 2014.

% of pupils reaching a good level of development

Pupils known to be FSM eligible

All other pupils All pupils

England 36 55 52

Halton 24 42 37

Knowsley 44 61 55

Liverpool 37 56 51

Sefton 32 56 51

St Helens 43 65 57

Wirral 28 52 47

LCR 35 55 50

FIG G: % of pupils reaching a good level of development at the EYSFP



Action 1: Support effective parenting, families and drive improvements in Foundation Years services Communication, literacy and numeracy Enhanced communication skills are the best foundation for success in school. It is widely accepted that the most successful strategy for combating anti-social behavior linked to social disadvantage is by preventing early language, literacy and numeracy failure. This not only provides a better tool for young people to achieve more in further education, but will also assist in the wider aspects of a child’s life, especially those living in more disadvantaged backgrounds.

A wide range of speech, language and communication skills are paramount to children’s wider development and have positive effects on their education, behaviour and ability to socialise. The promotion of these attributes is extremely important (both within a family and in a childcare setting) and speech and language therapy can help children and young people to improve these skills.

Figure H shows how children in each Liverpool City Region local authority who reside in a Super Output Areas (SOAs) amongst the 30% most deprived in England (based on the 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation) compare to the rest of the cohort. The data shows that children from the SOAs in the 30% most deprived areas in England do not perform as well as their counterparts. However, the most deprived SOAs in the City Region are achieving better results than the England average, with Halton and Wirral being the exception.

Communication and Language - % of children achieving at least the expected level

Literacy - % of children achieving at least the expected level

Mathematics - % of children achieving at least the expected level

SOAs in 30% most deprived

areas in England

All other SOAs


areas in England

All other SOAs


areas in England

All other SOAs

England 64 77 England 53 65 England 58 71

North West 63 78 North West 51 67 North West 55 72

Halton 61 73 Halton 41 57 Halton 47 64

Knowsley 75 80 Knowsley 57 66 Knowsley 65 75

Liverpool 73 84 Liverpool 55 67 Liverpool 65 76

Sefton 70 77 Sefton 53 64 Sefton 58 71

St Helens 65 81 St Helens 55 73 St Helens 59 76

Wirral 59 75 Wirral 46 62 Wirral 53 68

FIG H: % of children in the 30% most deprived SOAs in England achieving at least the expected level in communication, literacy and numeracy




Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

Personal, social and emotional development - % of children achieving at least the expected level

30% most deprived national areas

Other

England 70 80

North West 69 82

Halton 66 73

Knowsley 79 83

Liverpool 76 85

Sefton 74 82

St Helens 70 84

Wirral 65 78

Analysis of the 2013 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile across the Liverpool City Region shows that 76% of the children have reached the expected level of ‘Personal, Social and Emotional Development’. This is in keeping with the national rate and slightly higher than the regional level of 75%.

The Figure I shows how children in each Liverpool City Region local authority who reside in the 30% most disadvantaged Super Output areas in England (based on the 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation) compared to the rest of the cohort. The data shows that children from the SOAs in the 30% most deprived areas in England do not perform as well as their counterparts. However, the most deprived SOAs in the City Region are generally achieving better results than the England average for deprived areas, with Halton and Wirral being the exception.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development are three building blocks of future success in life. They are closely linked to each other and often bracketed together as one area of learning and development.

Personal development (Being me) – how we come to understand who we are and what we can do, how we look after ourselves.

Social development (Being social) – how we come to understand ourselves in relation to others, how we make friends, understand the rules of society and behave towards others.

Emotional development (Having feelings)- how we come to understand our own and others’ feelings and develop our ability to ‘stand in someone else’s shoes’ and see things from their point of view, referred to as empathy.

There is a range of factors that can adversely affect children’s PSED. The following can all have an impact:

Premature/low birth weight;

Poor health;

Poverty;

Lack of warmth;

Parental drug or substance abuse;

Poor housing;

Abuse;

Social, racial or cultural discrimination; and

Poor relationships with practitioners.

FIG I: % of children achieving at least the expected level of personal, social and emotional development




Teen Conception

The conception rate per 1,000 women aged 15-17 is highlighted as one of the Government's 2014-17 Child Poverty Strategy Indicators due to the close links between rates of teenage pregnancy and economic disadvantage.

As well as showing the effects of poverty (young females becoming pregnant are more likely to come from a deprived background), this indicator may demonstrate a cause, as teenage conceptions that result in birth can cause further poverty in terms of both the mother's future economic opportunities and the environment in which the child is brought up.

In the Liverpool City Region, the latest rate (2012) for Under 18 conceptions is 34.9 per 1,000 women (in that age group) compared to the regional and national rates of 31.6 and 27.2 per 1,000, respectively. The levels vary significantly across the City Region’s six Boroughs, with rates as high as 4 0 . 4 per 1,000 in Halton.

34.9 per 1,000


31.6 per 1,000 27.2

per 1,000

North West England

FIG J: Under 18 Conception rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-17), 2012



Action 2: Enhance children’s social and emotional development and reduce gaps in educational achievement

Low educational attainment is both an indicator of child poverty and a factor that increases the chances that poverty is sustained through the teenage and adult years. In addition, learning and development during the first years of life are thought to have a more significant impact on life outcomes than developments and interventions in later years. Parenting, care and learning during infancy can be more important than material wealth for tackling child poverty and ensuring that poor children do not become poor adults.

Key Stage 2

A recent impact study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the Centre for Analysis of Youth Transitions used the British Cohort Survey (which tracks individuals born in a particular week in 1970) to investigate the relationship between age 10 skills and earnings in later life. The study concluded that higher attainment in reading and maths at the age of 10 was correlated with the cohorts’ earnings in their 30s with higher scores in school achievement leading to an increase of between 5% and 11% in future wages.

62%

80%

The Department for Education’s National Curriculum Assessments show that amongst the Liverpool City Region’s 2012/13 Key Stage 2 cohort, around 77% of all pupils (aged 10/11 when assessed) achieved Level 4 or above in Reading, writing and mathematics. This is the same as the North West average, and slightly higher than the National average (76%), also it is an increase from 2012 when the overall achievement rate for the Liverpool City Region was 75%.

Pupils across the City Region who are known to be eligible for Free School Meals have a lower achievement rate of 63%, however this is higher than the national average of 60%, with Sefton being the lowest (59%), and Halton being the highest at (68%). When compared with the achievement levels of those who are ineligible (around 82% success rate), the education gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children is made clearer. The chart to the right compares these achievement levels with those of 2011 and shows that the gap has increased from 18% points to 19% points in this period.

FSM Cohort Non-FSM Cohort FIG K: Key Stage 2 Achievement Levels, 2011/12- Liverpool City Region

82%

63%

FSM Cohort Non-FSM Cohort FIG K: Key Stage 2 Achievement Levels. 2012/13 – Liverpool City Region



Action 2: Enhance children’s social and emotional development and reduce gaps in educational achievement

Key Stage 4

The attainment gap between pupils who are and are not eligible for Free School Meals remains apparent at GCSE level. Figure L shows that, in 2012/13, 35% of the Liverpool City Region’s Free School Meals (FSM) cohort achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs (including English and Maths). This is below the national average of 38% and North West average of 36%. In 5 of the 6 Liverpool City Region local authorities, the FSM cohort were below the national average, with Knowsley being the lowest (26%), and Wirral being the highest (38%). The only Local Authority to achieve higher was Halton (44%).

66% of the Liverpool City’s Regions non-Free School meals cohort achieved 5 or more A*-C GCSEs (including English and Maths), this was higher than the national and North West averages of 65%. All the Local Authorities achieved higher than the national average with the exceptions of Knowsley (52%), and St. Helens (60%). The gap between the LCR FSM cohort and non-FSM cohort is 31 percentage points, this is an increase of 1 percentage point since 2011/12, and is higher than the national average of 27 points.

35%

66%

Local Practice: Closing the Gap Following a peer review which identified that the gap in attainment between those with free school meals and the whole population was too large, Halton Council have been working to link schools who have a small gap with those who have a larger gap.

This peer mentoring and support was introduced in 2011, and Halton has continued to see a further reduction in the performance gap at age 11 from 16% to 14% in 2012-13 (level 4+ in reading writing and mathematics), and a reduction in the gap at age 16 of 5.5%.

FSM Cohort Non-FSM Cohort FIG L: key stage 4 Achievement levels, 2012/13



Action 3: Promote prevention and early intervention approaches to reduce health inequalities

The links between health inequalities and Child and Family Poverty are well evidenced at a national and local level. Children in poverty are more likely to have been born prematurely, have a low birth weight and face a higher risk of infant mortality. There is a direct correlation between areas with high rates of children living in poverty, low breastfeeding rates and low immunisation uptake. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that that more than 1,400 children’s lives could be saved nationally if child poverty was eradicated.

Continued high levels of child poverty have implications for future wellbeing and other, later, health risks include links to obesity, child tooth decay and increased respiratory problems. Many families will have lower levels of disposable income which will reduce children’s engagement in leisure activities that are known to be highly important to a good or content childhood.

Underweight Babies and Infant Mortality

In the two year period between 2010-12, 7.0% of babies born in the Liverpool City Region weighed less than 2,500g and were therefore classed as underweight. This shows a continued decrease from 7.6% since 2007-09 while in the same period, the infant mortality rate also fell from 4.8 per 1,000 to 4.5 per 1,000. However this has now increased by 0.1 per 1,000 since 2009-11.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is widely accepted as the best way to feed a baby and exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is recommended by World Health Organisation as the best option for nutrition and health. Additionally, the economic value of breastfeeding can help a low income family budget their outgoing costs at what is often a very expensive time.

Immunisation

Data for 2012-13 shows that, since the last Needs Assessment was updated, rates of MMR Immunisation for children aged 2 across the Liverpool City Region has increased from 93.4% (2011-12) to 95.3%. This has also increased for children aged 5 during the same period from 87.1% to 91.5%.

.8

The latest data for in the Liverpool City Region (2012-13) shows that 52.9% of mothers are successful in initiating breast feeding with their newborn baby. This has been consistent since 2009-10 (51.8%).

The floor expectation for all vaccinations is now 95%, with an aspiration that all children will have all of their due vaccines. In meeting this expectation, City Region general practitioners are achieving over and above their national contract.

7.6 % 7.1 %

7.0 %

4.8 per 1,000

4.4 per 1,000

4.5 per 1,000

2007-09 2009-11 2010-12

Underweight babies born Infant mortality rate

FIG M: Underweight births and Infant mortality rates, 2007-09 to 2010-12 comparison



Action 3: Promote prevention and early intervention approaches to reduce health inequalities

Child Healthy Weight

Obesity has been long proven to increase the risk of a number of conditions in childhood and later life including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, joint problems and poor mental health. Obesity prevalence for children is known to be closely linked to socio- economic status, with higher obesity prevalence in more deprived areas.


England

2009/10 2011/12 2012/13 FIG N: Obesity in reception pupils

10.5%

9.5%

11%

9.3%

At both reception and year 6, obesity rates in 2012/13 are higher in the Liverpool City Region than the North West and England averages. In reception, 11% of children measured were classed as obese in comparison to the national of 9.3%, and North West of 9.6%. In year 6, 21.5% of children measured were classed as obese in comparison to the national of 18.9%, and North West of 19.6%.



Action 4: Influence an improvement in the quality of place and support strong communities

Poor housing during childhood has huge financial and social costs across many areas including health, education and the economy. Research from Shelter shows that children who live in poverty are almost twice as likely to be in bad housing.

Children living in bad housing are almost twice as likely to suffer from poor health as other children and are a third more likely to suffer respiratory problems such as chest problems, breathing difficulties, asthma and bronchitis than other children. Children living in unfit homes miss school more frequently due to medical reasons than other children. Even when they are attending school, children who live in bad housing can have their achievements compromised by delayed cognitive development or by behavioural problems linked to their home lives. As a result of these issues, they are also nearly twice as likely as other children to leave school without any GCSEs.

Hazards in the Home

The Government’s Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) assesses 29 different types of housing hazards and the effect that each may have on the health and safety of current or future occupants or any visitor to a property. Local Authorities and Registered Providers conduct stock condition surveys across the country to identify any existing hazards and assess how they should be rectified in order to reduce the risk of harm from a home. As a result of these ongoing surveys across the Liverpool City Region, it is estimated that there are currently around 58,150 dwellings with category 1 hazards across the City Region (2011/12). Examples of category 1 hazards are:

Inadequate heating;

Fire alarms not working;

Leaking roof;

Broken rail on a steep stairway;

Lack of physical security, for example doors and windows do not close or lock properly.

Healthy Homes Liverpool and Knowsley both run Healthy Homes programmes. Knowsley Healthy Homes will target areas of poor quality housing and health via a team of trained advocates who will visit every home within identified areas. A structured conversation will be held with residents in relation to the condition of their property, and a range of other issues affecting their health and wellbeing. The advocate will collect information during the interview via a secure tablet computer and, with resident consent, will generate an automated referral to one or more local services. The programme aims to facilitate access to support services for those currently not engaged, encouraging residents to be healthier, more financially secure, able to work, to look after themselves and their properties. In the long term, this will lower demand for more reactive Council and other services including environmental health, social and health care.



Action 4: Influence an improvement in the quality of place and support strong communities

New Build homes

For decades, there have not been enough homes to meet the needs of our growing and ageing population. From 2009 to 2010, only 115,000 new-builds were completed in England – fewer than any year in peace time since the 1920s and nearly a quarter of a million homes in England have stood empty for more than 6 months.

The government wants builders, investors and local councils to increase the supply of both new-builds and repurposed empty homes. The government has introduced a number of schemes to increase housing supply that will:

Remove unnecessarily complex regulations; Provide finance for projects that can’t proceed without it; Help buyers who can’t afford to buy a home because they can’t afford the

deposit.

The number of new homes completed in the Liverpool City Region has increased by 3.9% since 2012/13 which is similar to the national picture of 4.0%.

Dwellings completed 2012/13 Dwellings completed 2013/14

Private Enterprise

Housing Associations

All Private Enterprise

Housing Associations

All

Halton Data not available Data not available

Knowsley 130 20 160 Data not available

Liverpool 480 50 530 610 130 730

Sefton 140 10 150 80 10 90

St. Helens 200 60 260 230 70 300

Wirral 150 20 170 120 90 200

Total 1,270 1,320

Affordable homes

Affordable housing plays a key role in tackling energy efficiency and

reducing fuel poverty. Figure P below shows that the number of

affordable dwellings built in the Liverpool City Region has been

increasing each year since 2008/9 through to 2011/12, though there

has been a slight fall in completions in 2012/13.

Additional affordable dwellings provided by local authority area

2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13

Halton 80 140 170 190 180

Knowsley 30 90 180 210 120

Liverpool 560 410 300 420 420

Sefton 100 130 220 210 260

St. Helens 10 170 120 250 160

Wirral 80 190 230 210 190

LCR 860 1,130 1,220 1,490 1,330

FIG O: New homes completed in the Liverpool City Region

FIG P: New affordable dwellings completed in the Liverpool City Region



Action 4: Influence an improvement in the quality of place and support strong communities Transport is important for young people to access education, training or employment, to socialise and to play an active role in local communities. Affordability of travel is a major issue highlighted by children and young people and can have an impact on their access to education. High transport cost is a growing concern for many young people across the City Region wanting to progress onto further education or to access a school that specialises in a field that they are interested in, but is not located in their local area.

My Ticket Merseytravel introduced a ticket in May 2014 called ‘My Ticket’ which costs £2.00 per day for children and young people aged between 5 and 15. It is available to buy on buses and is valid on participating operators' services in Merseyside, allowing all day travel across the Merseyside bus network for a potential market of over 180,000 young people. Local education authorities have a statutory duty to ‘facilitate attendance’ at school for pupils of compulsory school age. This involves providing free transport for pupils who live over walking distances from their nearest school and are also from a low income household. However, this policy in its current guise can limit parental choice and could prevent children in poverty from accessing a school with a particular specialism. Cost of travel The cost of travelling by train from Kirkby, Prescot/Whiston, Huyton and Halewood to Liverpool has been monitored over a period of time (this is based on an average peak return fare). During this time train fares have fluctuated from £4.40 (Sept 2012) to £4.14 (October 2014). In the same period the Liverpool zone standard bus fare has increased from £1.90 (Sept 2012), to £2.20 (October 2014). Young People’s Transport Project Merseytravel’s Young People’s project follows on from a successful young people’s affordability pilot (which recently won the Most Innovative Transport Project award at the National Transport Awards 2014). The project focuses on those young people with the most need with a particular focus on young people with low attendance. Young people have been provided with a free bike or a term’s free pass. Additional support has been provided in school such as personal journey planning and infrastructure grants. Evaluation from Broadgreen International School showed that for 98% of those students that received support with transport costs, a marked improvement was recorded in their attendance and punctuality. Students arrived at school on time and on a regular basis.

Customer feedback

"A young person at one of our customer forums told us he uses three buses to get to and from school, costing over £6 per day, because his mum doesn't have the money at the beginning of the week to buy a weekly ticket. The £2 ticket will reduce his travel costs and will mean he can meet up with his friends or go to the local youth club in the evening as well."

Headteacher "We are grateful for Merseytravel's support, which has had a positive impact on our students. Their generous offer of travel passes for some of our students who have very poor attendance and punctuality has demonstrated that high public transport costs for young people can be a barrier to attending school when household income is low. We want to see these good patterns of attendance continue and will commit further school

funding to ensure this happens."


Aim 2: Maximise family income

Action 1: Improve access to suitable financial services and support families to make good financial decisions

Home Ownership Costs The UK property market has seen a relatively steep increase in house prices throughout 2013 into 2014, with an average of around £17,000 increase on the prices of houses. These trends are reflected both in the North West and the Liverpool City Region however at much lower average levels, with average properties in the LCR increasing in value by around £4,000. Affordability in the LCR, as with the rest of the UK, remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks, with families unable to save the deposit required or finding a lender suited to their needs, those families then choose to move into the private rented sector where the costs on average for the same properties are greater.

A 2014 report by Shelter, the homeless charity, showed that some authorities in the city region are ranked within the highest 20% for possession claims (Liverpool Halton, St Helens and Knowsley). During the period October 2012 through to September 2013, the Liverpool City Region had a total of 7,571 claims for possession against homeowners. Higher possession rates are strongly associated with issues of housing affordability, and high rates of unemployment.

Individual Insolvencies

In 2013, there were 3,340 new cases of individual insolvency across the Liverpool City Region. This is the lowest number of new cases since 2008 but over the last ten years there has been an increase in insolvencies of around 300 per cent.

It is important to note that these figures will only give a partial picture of debt across the City Region. Residents who have become insolvent will have addressed the issue by going through the insolvency process; there will be many others who have not explored this option and will remain under the pressure of personal debt.

FIG Q: Individual Insolvencies, Liverpool City Region 2013

Financial Inclusion The Liverpool City Region Financial Inclusion Forum was established in 2012 to develop a co-ordinated approach to financial inclusion issues. Work undertaken has included projecting the potential financial impact of welfare reform in the City Region, promoting access to financial products, and supporting an increase in credit union membership across the City Region.

Credit Unions

The Liverpool City Region Child Poverty and Life Chances Commission has pledged to double local credit union membership rates by 2017. Credit Union membership in the City Region is now over 65,000, up from 40,000 in 2012 and well on the way to the target of 80,000 in 2017.

21%

35%

44%

Bankruptcy

Debt Relief Orders

Individual Voluntary Arrangements

3,340 individual

solvencies



Action 1: Improve access to suitable financial services and support families to make good financial decisions

Living in a cold home creates many health risks for people of all ages and can have severe impacts of children’s educational and social development. Rising energy prices and a lack of knowledge regarding energy-saving initiatives means that the cost of heating a home is an increasing issue for many people across the country, pushing more and more into fuel poverty.

A household is said to be in fuel poverty if, in order to maintain an acceptable level of temperature throughout the home, the occupants would have to spend more than 10% of their income on all household fuel use. The Department of Energy and Climate Change shows that there are around 116,596 households in the Liverpool City Region classed as being in fuel poverty, this is a decrease from 2010 (134,800), this accounts for 18% of all households. Figure R shows the distribution of fuel poverty in the City Region by Lower Super Output Area.

As the map suggests, the neighbourhoods with high concentrations of the fuel poverty (and, one could assume, other indicators of deprivation) are highlighted in darker colours, with those in brown containing at least 26% of households in fuel poverty. Almost 382 of the Liverpool City Region’s LSOAs are in the top 20% of fuel poor neighbourhoods in England.

The government has recently set out the new definition of fuel poverty. Under the new definition, a household is said to be in fuel poverty if, they have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level), and were they to spend that amount they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (2011) shows that there are around 83,704

households in the Liverpool City Region classed as being in fuel poverty, this accounts for just under 13% of all households.

FIG R: Fuel Poverty in the Liverpool City Region by SOA



Action 1: Improve access to suitable financial services & support families to make good financial decisions

£1,306

Variation in Household Energy Prices

Domestic energy prices (the cost of gas and electricity within the home) continue to increase at a far higher rate than incomes. Between the first quarter of 2013 and 2014 gas prices in the UK increased by 6% and electricity by 7.2%. The average annual combined (electricity and gas) domestic energy bill in the Liverpool City Region was £1,337 in 2013. This is higher than the average combined domestic energy bill across the UK which was £1,306. One explanation for this is the higher price when paying using a pre-payment card compared with direct debit payments. Prepayment requires the customer to make advance payment before fuel can be used. This payment type tends to be the most expensive due to its nature and added costs People on low incomes are more likely to use pre-payment cards to pay for energy to heat their homes. The reasons can vary, but can include trouble accessing mainstream bank accounts, poor credit ratings or history, cultural distrust in using high street banking, and inability to budget effectively enough to use credit based payment systems such as direct debit.

In 2013 it was on average 7.7% more expensive to pay using pre-payment cards in Liverpool City Region at an annual cost of £1,386 compared to paying by direct debit at an annual cost of £1,287. Customers in the Liverpool City region are more likely than the rest of the country to pay using pre-payment cards with 22% of all energy customers paying in this way. This compares with just 16% of customers across the whole of Great Britain paying using this more expensive method. *Data released by DECC relates to the Merseyside and North Wales area, which includes the Liverpool City Region.

£1,306 UK

average

£1,337

LCR average

£1,287 Direct Debit

£1,386 Pre-

payment cards

FIG S: Average annual combined household energy bill

FIG S: Average annual household energy costs in the Liverpool City Region



Action 2: Optimise employment opportunities by removing barriers to good quality and sustainable employment

There were around 31,312 Job Seekers Allowance Claimants in the Liverpool City Region as of August 2014 which accounts for 3.2 per cent of the working age population, this is a reduction of 2.3 percentage points since April 2012, this equates to 22,599 less claimants. As of February 2014 there were 98,430 Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support allowance claimants. This accounts for 10.1% of the working age residents, which has decreased by 0.4 percentage points since February 2011 which equates to 4,230 fewer claimants. This highlights the long-term unemployment trends in the City Region and the wider economic impact that poor health can have on residents.

In addition to this, there are currently around 17,900 (February 2014) Lone Parent Benefit claimants in the Liverpool City Region which accounts for 1.8% of the working age population and is a reduction of 4,180 since February 2011.

Figure T shows the geographical distribution and, much like the wider deprivation profile, highlights particular pockets of high Claimant rates across the City Region’s wards. The latest data available shows that the number of JSA claimants under the age of 25 has fallen from 9% (August 2011) to 4.2 (August 2014), this equates to a reduction of 9,405 claimants.

FIG T: JSA Claimants in the Liverpool City Region by Ward, August 2014

Youth Unemployment Task Force As part of if its innovative City Region Deal with Government, the Liverpool City Region pledged to halve the number of long-term unemployed young people and commissioned the Youth Unemployment Task Force to explore the issues that young people in the City Region are faced with when looking for work and make recommendations as to how they can be addressed. The Youth Unemployment Task Force found that, in keeping with feedback regarding desirable skills, there was a definitive mismatch between what young people saw as barriers compared to the view of the prospective employers. While young people believed that their lack of work experience, lack of qualifications and even their age itself were acting as significant barriers, businesses from the Task Force were keen to highlight that, from a business perspective, many of the barriers to employing a young person were related to attitudinal and motivational factors; such as perceived lack of interest/effort from young employees, poor timekeeping and social skills.



Action 2: Optimise employment opportunities by removing barriers to good quality and sustainable employment

The Annual Population Survey (Jan 2013 – Dec 2013) estimates that there are currently around 1 in 8(12.2%) working age adults without qualifications in the Liverpool City Region; this has fallen by 4% points since 2009. Figure U shows that the rate of adults with skill levels between NVQ 1 and 4 have all increased, whilst adults with no qualifications has decreased over the same period.

Those with NVQ 4+ qualifications has slightly increased from 25% (2009) to 27% (2013), with just over 1 in 4 adults having a degree. However, in order to ‘match’ the national rate of 35%, there would need to be around 73,040 more residents qualified to NVQ4+; which has increased from 43,000 residents in 2009. It is extremely important to note that a large majority of those adults with no skills are not engaged in Further Education or training and it remains a significant challenge to ‘close’ the skills gap for this (often older) cohort.

In order to close this gap with the England average, the Liverpool City Region would need:

73,040 more people qualified to NVQ 4+ 61,126 more people qualified to NVQ 3+

33,740 more people qualified to NVQ 2+

This means the gap between the Liverpool City Region and the England average has increased since 2013.

FIG U: Adult skills levels in the Liverpool City Region



Action 3: Support parents to progress in the workplace

There are approximately 644,600 working residents in the Liverpool City Region. Figure V shows that 37.8% of the working residents are employed in jobs within SOC Group 1 – 3 (a description of the SOC Groups is included in Figure V), this is lower than both the national rate of 44.7% and North West of 40.8%. A further 22.6% work within SOC Group 4 – 5 (National = 21.0%, and North West = 21.9%), whilst the remaining 38.5% are split between SOC Group 6 – 7 and 8 – 9 (National = 33.6%, and North West = 36.3%).

When comparing this with the same breakdown from the same period in 2010, SOC groups 1-3 and 6-7 saw slight increases whilst 4-5 and 8-9 had slight decreases, therefore resulting in the overall number of employees rising by around 23,500 (net) which equates to a 3.8% rise. The National picture is similar, the only difference being with SOC group 6-7 remaining the same, therefore resulting in the overall number of employees rising by 4.4%. FIG V: Employment in the Liverpool City Region by Standard Occupation Code, Annual Population Survey April 2013- March 2014

The 2013 Annual Survey of hours and Earnings finds that the average median weekly wage across the City Region is £391; an average increase of 2.8% over the last 12 months. However there is a big gap between part time and full time hourly pay, these being £7.64 and £12.24. In addition to this the percentage of residents employed in part-time work is increasing – with 35% in 2011, increasing to 36% in 2012. Local insight suggests that there is an increase of ‘underemployed’ residents in the Liverpool City Region; those who would prefer to work full-time but are only offered part-time hours by their employers.

SOC Group 1-3 Managers,Professionals, Associate Professionals

SOC Group 4-5

Administrative, Skilled

SOC Group 6-7 Caring, Customer

Service, Other Service Occupations

SOC Group 8-9

Machine Operatives, Elementary Occupations

Employer Insight: Skills needed to improve The UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2013 is one of the largest employer skills survey of its kind. Businesses in the Liverpool City Region have identified the following issues as key skills gap for new employees:

• Planning & organization skills

• Job specific/technical skills

• Problem solving

• Written communication/literacy

• Team working skills



Action 3: Support parents to progress in the workplace Skills for Growth

Findings from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s extensive research around Cities, Growth and Poverty argues that Job creation is the critical factor in linking growth and poverty reduction, and the quality of the jobs created matters as well as the quantity. Poverty does not just affect long-term unemployed people or those furthest from the labour market; with estimates suggesting that more than half the people in poverty in the UK were part of a working family. The relationship between growth and poverty in an area is two-way. Poverty reduction contributes to economic growth, bringing significant economic and financial benefits for places and their residents. Reducing poverty:

Makes more efficient use of people’s skills, knowledge and experience, and boosts productivity;

Raises incomes, increasing spend and demand in a local economy, directly benefiting local businesses;

Reduces welfare spending and demand for public services.

The Liverpool City Region Labour Market Information Service (LMIS) is currently producing a suite of 10 Skills for Growth Agreements for key sectors and employment locations within the City Region. These agreements articulate the current and future skills needs of businesses in a number of the City Region’s growth sectors including SuperPort, Visitor Economy, and Knowledge Economy. The agreements will encourage employers, skills providers and local employment partnerships to work together to resolve the mismatch in employment and skills within the City Region by attracting young people to the sectors via bespoke learning routes and ‘upskilling’ the existing workforce through a wide range of accredited training. The LMIS have produced a range of careers materials under the ‘Jobs for Tomorrow’ banner which provide interactive careers advice and guidance for young people, and wider sources for parents and teachers.

Skills Show Experience 2014 In June 2014, the Skills Show Experience @ The International Festival for Business provided a wide range of opportunities for young people across the Liverpool City Region to see the range of future careers available across the City Region’s growth sectors. The event saw around 3,500 young people from 55 schools take part in over 120 ‘have a go’ activities with local employers, displaying the practical application of a wide range of skills. A survey undertaken during the event showed that an overwhelming 95% of respondents found the Skills Show enjoyable or very enjoyable with around 9 out 10 finding the careers advice they received at the event useful or very useful.



FIG W: Apprenticeship Achievements in the

Liverpool City Region, by Age. 2012/13, the

Data Service.

Action 3: Support parents to progress in the workplace

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship schemes across the Liverpool City Region are playing an increasingly important role to help people gain the skills and experience they need to succeed in the world of work. In 2012/13, there were 11,080 Apprenticeship Achievements across the Liverpool City Region (a decrease of 8.35% from the previous year), since 2005/06, there has been an increase in the number of Achievements almost every year (with the exception of slight reductions in 2007/08 and 2012/13).

Figure W shows the breakdown of Apprenticeship Achievements by age and it is interesting to note that around half of the Apprenticeship Achievements in 2012/13 were by Apprentices aged 25 or above. This suggests that older residents (and, therefore, those more likely to have families) are taking advantage of training opportunities to help develop their careers and earnings potential. In 2012/13, around 21,010 new Apprenticeships were started across the City Region. Of these there were 10,060 achievements.

The Living Wage The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK and the income needed to maintain a minimum acceptable standard of living. The current Living Wage for the UK is £7.65 per hour, which is higher than the current minimum wage of £6.31 per hour. Over 10% of residents in the City Region earned less than the Living Wage in 2013 according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. The Living Wage is promoted by a charity called the Living Wage Foundation, who offer an accreditation scheme for employers who meet Living Wage requirements. To qualify for accreditation, an organisation must confirm that all directly employed staff are paid the Living Wage and have a plan in place for contracted staff. Information on accredited employers in the City Region is not currently available, but there is potential to develop some local research around this.


Appendix A: Liverpool City Region Child & Family Poverty Matrix

Indicator Where we were

Date

Where we were

Date Where we

are Date Improvement

Ea

rly Y

ea

rs

Proportion of underweight babies born 7.6 per 1,000

2007-09

7.1 per 1,000

2009-11

7.0 per 1,000

2010-12 Yes

Percentage of pregnant women who smoke at time of delivery

18.6%

2010-11

18.0%

2011-12

17.4%

2012/13

Yes

Breast Feeding Initiation 50.4% 2010/11 51.5% 2011/12 52.9% 2012/13 Yes

Infant Mortality Rate

4.8 per 1,000

2007-09

4.4%

2009-11

4.5 per 1,000

2010-12 No

Immunisation 24month Cohort - MMR

90.2%

2010-11

93.4%

2011-12

95.3% 2012/13 Yes

Childhood Obesity - Reception Year

11.4%

2009-10

10.5%

2011-12

11% 2012/13 No

Underweight children - Reception Year

0.9%

2009-10

0.8%

2011-12

0.7% 2012/13 Yes

‘Good level of development’ at foundation stage

No data available

55% 2012/13 N/A

% point gap between FSM and non-FSM pupils achieving a

‘good level of development’ at Foundation Stage* 20% 2012/13 N/A

% of pupils that have achieved the expected level of 'social

development'* 76% 2012/13 N/A

Immunisation rate for children aged 5 - MMR (2 doses)

84.9%

2010-11

87.1%

2011-12

91.5% 2012/13 Yes

Immunisation rate for children aged 5 who have completed

immunisation for all 4 doses of DTap/IPV

86.8%

2010-11

88.3%

2011-12

92% 2012/13 Yes

*Indicates an average of local authority overall figures



Indicator Where we were

Date

Where we were

Date

Where we are

Date

Improvement

Ch

ildre

n a

nd Y

ou

ng P

eo

ple

Childhood Obesity - Year 6

21.0%

2009-10

21.2%

2011-12

21.5% 2012/13 No

Underweight children - Year 6

0.9%

2009-10

1.2%

2011-12

1.2% 2012/13 Same

Local Achievement gap between pupils eligible for free school

meals and their peers achieving level 4+ in reading, writing

and maths at Key stage 2

Stage 2

No data available 18 % points 2011/12 19 % points 2012/13 No

The likelihood of children to be involved in a collision of any

severity from the LSOAs with highest child poverty compared

to the LCR as a whole

20.0%

2010

27.0%

2011

Data no longer collected

Gap between FSM pupils and their peers achieving 5 A*-C

grades at GCSE (and equivalent) including English and maths

31.5%

2009-10

30%

2011-12

31 % points 2012/13 No

Children and young people under 18 submitted to hospital for

alcohol specific conditions as recorded by the DoH.(per 1,000

population)

134.57

2009-10

114.12

2010-11

Under-18 alcohol specific conditions for LCR can’t be derived with the information

available

Under 18 Conception Rate

44.9

2009

37.3

2011

34.9 2012 Yes

First time entrants to the Youth Justice System (FTEs)

4,340

2011

3,674.10

2012

2,577.20 2013 Yes

NEET No data available 7.6% March 2013 7.1% March 2014 Yes



Indicator Where

we were

Date Where

we were

Date Where

we are Date

Improvement

Fa

mily

Cir

cu

msta

nce

s

Proportion of children in poverty (headline measure)

27.2% 2010 Aug

(HMRC)

26.8% 2011 Aug

(HMRC) 25.5% 2012 Yes

% of Children (0-15 year olds) living in workless households

29%

2010

29%

2011 28% 2012 Yes

JSA Claimants

5.5%

August -12

4.8%

August-13

3.2% August-14 Yes

JSA Claimants 18-24

10.3%

August -12

8.6%

August-13 5.2% August-14 Yes

IB/ESA Claimants

10.4%

February-12

10.2%

February-13 10.1% February-14 Yes

Lone Parent Claimants

2.2%

February-12

1.9% February-13 1.8% February-14 Yes

Number of individual insolvency cases

3,776

2011

3,673 2012 3,340 2013 Yes

NI118 Take up of formal childcare by low-income working

families*

21.7%

2009

20.9%

2010 Data no longer collected

No Qualifications

16.5%

2009

13.9%

2011 12.2% 2013 Yes

NVQ1 +

78.1%

2009

80.7%

2011 82.7% 2013 Yes

NVQ2 +

63.7%

2009

66.4%

2011 68.9% 2013 Yes

NVQ3 +

43.2%

2009

46.3%

2011 49.1% 2013 Yes

NVQ4+

25%

2009

24.9%

2011 27.2% 2013 Yes

Skills Gap - No qualifications (England)

41,600

2009

32,910

2011 29,269 2013 Yes

Skills Gap - NVQ2 (England)

12,284

2009

29,151

2011 33,740 2013 Yes

Skills Gap - NVQ4 (England)

43,442

2009

73,270

2011 73,040

2013

No

Access to an employment location within 40 minutes

travel time (in areas with the highest levels of child

poverty)

73.0%

2010

73.0%

2012

Data no longer collected

Documents

Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty …...Liverpool City Region Child and Family Poverty Needs Assessment Refresh | October 2014 Table of Contents • Aims and Actions •