Still work to do in tackling inequality in Solihull

COUNCILLORS have been updated on a drive to reduce the gulf in living standards between North Solihull and the rest of the borough.

Solihull Council is closely monitoring how Chelmsley Wood, Smith's Wood and Kingshurst & Fordbridge compare with the other 14 wards, which traditionally have higher life expectancy and lower levels of crime and unemployment.

A report presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Board this evening reveals that attempts to tackle inequality have been broadly successful.

Incidents of anti social behaviour, hate crime and the number of young people out of work are now closer to the levels in Solihull as a whole.

The report's author, Melanie Lockley, said: "Overall levels of unemployment have continued to reduce, with most improvement for 18-24  year old unemployment, which has seen the gap between the regeneration wards and the borough average reduce significantly and the overall rate is now only marginally worse than national rates."

Major headway has also been made in persuading residents that they can influence local decisions; previously there had been a profound sense of disillusionment over the handling of regeneration schemes.

However, statistics show there are still areas where the gap between the borough's more "deprived" communities and neighbouring areas is in fact widening.

Notably, despite a number of high-profile healthy eating campaigns, obesity among primary school children is found in increasingly disproportionate levels in North Solihull.

The local authority hopes that initiatives to promote cycling and tighter controls on takeaways will tackle the problem.

There is also a growing disparity in the exam results of sixth formers, who continue to under perform compared to those in the south of the borough, and the number of people waiting to be housed.

You can read the full report here.