Former coalfield areas still struggling – report
FORMER coalfield communities in the North East are still seeing higher levels of unemployment, poor health and a shortage of good jobs, more than 30 years from the closure of the region’s last pit, a new report says.
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust – which works to improve the lives of people in forming mining areas around the UK – has published its five-yearly State of the Coalfields report, which finds evidence of lowquality jobs, higher than average levels of poor health and thousands of young people having to leave their home communities to find work.
The report highlights how former coalfield areas of Northumberland and County Durham have not seen the same economic recovery as similar areas in South Derbyshire, North Leicestershire, Lothian and South Staffordshire.
And while many former mining areas have seen a big rise in employment in warehouses, Northumberland has not benefitted from this trend to any great extent.
The report, carried out for the Coalfield Regeneration Trust by Sheffield Hallam University, also highlights how fewer people in former coalfield areas go on to university and more are economically inactive, often due to being long-term sick or disabled.
And it says that 54% of neighbourhoods in County Durham and 49% in Northumberland are among the most deprived in England.
The report says: “There is still clear evidence of disadvantage in the former coalfields. Unemployment, as conventionally recorded, is low but the employment rate – the share of men and women of working age in employment – is well below average and the overall numbers on out-ofwork benefits remain very high. These are not indicators of a labour market that has fully recovered.
“Added to this, the quality of the jobs on offer in the former coalfields is below-par. Earnings are below average and manual jobs are the norm to a far greater extent than in the big cities.
“There are social indicators on which the former coalfields also display disadvantage. The population is older and ageing. Ill-health is widespread. So too is deprivation. The share of the workforce with higherlevel qualifications is well below average, though this appears to owe more to the loss of the well-qualified to other places than to failings in the local educational system.
“Of course, the former coalfields cannot claim a monopoly on these problems. What distinguishes the former coalfields is they lag behind on such a wide range of indicators.”
Reacting to the report, Labour’s MP for Wansbeck Ian Lavery said: “This report is shocking but comes as little surprise to those of us who live and work in coalfield areas. With our history of industry and the failure of Government to properly support our communities, there is little surprise that we lag behind other areas with poor health and high unemployment.
“The levelling up promised by the current Government has failed to materialise and failed to deliver for these communities, but the truth is the malaise stretches back to the closure of the coal industry. We must continue to advocate for real investment in places like those that I represent. We need improvements in infrastructure, public services and most importantly jobs.”
Neighbouring MP Ian Levy, who represents Blyth Valley for the Conservatives, said: “My focus since being elected in 2019 has been to attract new employment opportunities and raise education and skills standards because I know that these are essential ways to improve people’s economic circumstances and improve health outcomes.
“Education standards are rising in South East Northumberland, new skills opportunities are opening up and businesses are creating new jobs – particularly in the new energy sectors that have replaced coal. These structural shifts don’t happen over night and will be relentlessly pursue every opportunity to improve things.”
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We continue to invest in all areas of the UK via our levelling up funding programmes, including coalfield communities.
“We have committed £15bn to levelling up to help improve lives across the country, including our £1.5bn Long-Term Plan for Towns funding. Through this initiative, 75 towns, including Spennymoor, Blyth, and Hartlepool in the North East, will develop long-term plans for regeneration.”