A new study shows 57 per cent of the poorest neighbourhoods in the North of England had above-average improvement to employment prior to the recession and going forward the Big Society can only work if there is a culture of local co-operation.

Research by ippr north, working with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and The Northern Way found that targeted investment and sustained economic growth, as well as active involvement by local people and collaboration with agencies in the wider area, can improve prospects for the North’s most deprived communities.

The report, Rebalancing Local Economies: Widening economic opportunities for people in deprived communities, looks in detail at three case study areas in the North of England. It found that over the early part of the last decade worklessness fell by more than the national average for deprived neighbourhoods in:

68% of deprived neighbourhoods in Greater Liverpool
59% of deprived neighbourhoods in Greater Leeds, and
56% deprived neighbourhoods in Tees Valley.

The report also found that while economic growth, investment and increasing people’s ability to work are vital, if deprived neighbourhoods are to improve they need to develop a positive community outlook and a sense of aspiration.

The study compared the experience of ‘matched pairs’ of deprived neighbourhoods in Liverpool, Leeds and Middlesbrough and analysed why some areas improved their prospects over the past decade while others lagged. Researchers found that:

Early intervention to improve housing and tackle local ‘crime and grime’ issues encourage people with the best skills and potential to stay in the neighbourhood

More innovation and local flexibility in welfare-to-work programmes is key to connecting unemployed people in neighbourhoods to job opportunities in the wider economy

A positive and outward-looking neighbourhood spirit fosters confidence, leadership and aspiration and improves local economic prospects.

However, researchers found that not all neighbourhoods made the improvements seen in others, even though they started in similar circumstances.

They found that ‘lagging’ neighbourhoods are characterised by a combination of factors including a defensive and inward looking community identity; low confidence and aspiration; a lack of strong community leadership; and an unwillingness to travel out of the neighbourhood to find work.

The report shows that there is a close relationship between these factors and people with better life chances moving out of the neighbourhood.

ippr north Director Ed Cox said: "Economic growth has improved poor people’s lives in Northern Cities. That is an inescapable and obvious conclusion from this report. But even when the investment has gone in and the jobs are there, not everyone benefits. Some neighbourhoods get left behind.

"People need to be able to connect to the new opportunities and our research shows not all can. What is needed is support to give people the confidence and the aspiration to seize the chances on offer – this must be at the heart of what Big Society is about."

A key concern is to ensure that the improvements these communities have seen are not lost because of the economic downturn and public sector cuts, so the report recommends that:

Central government should deliver on its promise to give Local Enterprise Partnerships real long-term powers and functions in the areas of housing, transport and welfare-to-work commissioning, as is the case in London, to ensure they can both foster economic growth and help local people take advantage of these opportunities.

Decisions by Local Authorities about housing allocations policy should be made after consultation with residents and with a view to developing mixed and dynamic communities and not high concentrations of vulnerable people.

The ‘Big Society’ agenda can only be delivered in deprived neighbourhoods if community groups, estate managers and neighbourhood officers are properly involved. This requires a culture of co-operation, and the resources to support community activism.

The Single Work Programme should be innovative and flexible with strong local input, ensuring that people who live in neighbourhoods where getting into work is particularly difficult have access to personally tailored schemes which suit their needs.

Hugh Morgan Williams, hairman of the Northern Way said: "This timely report demonstrates clearly the need to foster strong economic growth in the North of England, both to ensure a robust and sustainable recovery and to create the conditions to address longstanding challenges of worklessness and deprivation which have continued to affect people in many of our communities.

"It shows that we need strong and strategic Local Enterprise Partnerships with real influence on housing, transport and employment delivery if we are to make our goal of a rebalanced economy a reality."

Nancy Kelley, acting co-director of policy and research at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "We face the prospect of public sector cuts and the impacts they are likely to have on the poorest places, it is more important than ever to understand how we can support deprived neighbourhoods to survive and even grow over the long term.

"This report provides important insights into the mix of investment, opportunity and attitude that goes into rebuilding communities, and gives local and national government some clear targets for positive action."

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