Life in the city shown in figures
RATES OF SMOKING, CRIMES AND EMPLOYMENT HAVE INCREASED OVER THE LAST YEAR
The rates of smoking, crimes and employment have all increased in Sunderland over the last year.
The latest figures for life in the city released by the council paint a mixed picture, with some aspects showing clear improvement, while others appear to be going backwards.
On the plus side, more people are finding jobs, fewer are claiming benefits and record numbers of people are choosing to visit Wearside.
But at the same time, life expectancy is still lower than the national and regional average, while smoking prevalence is also on the rise.
The data is due to be presented to Sunderland City Council’s cabinet on Wednesday, September 19, as part of the Performance Update for April – June (2018/19 Q1).
Councillor Michael Mordey, the council’s deputy leader, said: “This is a snapshot of how and where our city and the council is performing on a series of key indicators.
“There are positives and negatives in the update.
“We now have more people working in our city, we’re above the regional average, and we’ve seen a greater increase than in the rest of the UK when compared to a year ago.
“Fewer people are claiming benefits than in the rest of the region, but we’re higher than the national average.
“There’s still much to do with our city’s health, and there are the ongoing issues with both adult and children’s social care where people need support.”
There were 1,973 complaints directed at the council in Q1 – significantly fewer than the 3,371 complaints the same period the previous year.
According to the figures, there were 8,599 recorded crimes in the period, an increase of 12%.
This included a rise in public disorder offences of almost 50%.
The employment rate for April 2017 – March 2018 was 71.8%, up by 2.5% on the previous year.
And in June this year the claimant count stood at 3.3% – lower than the North East rate of 3.5%, but higher than the national rate of 2.2%.