COUNCILLORS have clashed over whether enough is being done to tackle inequality in Solihull.
The Green Party has highlighted a recent Government report which revealed that eight areas in North Solihull (each covering between 1,000 and 1,500 homes) were ranked among the top five per cent of neighbourhoods in the country when it came to deprivation.
Four of these were in Chelmsley Wood, two in Kingshurst & Fordbridge, one in Smith’s Wood and one in Bickenhill (the ward which encompasses Marston Green.)
Councillor Ian Courts, deputy leader of the council, said that the statistics should be treated with some caution, as they did not take account of many of the improvements that had been made locally.
“It’s extremely important not to read too much into the data,” he told this month’s Full Council meeting.
However, Councillor Stephen Holt (Green, Smith’s Wood) remained concerned that despite Solihull’s overall prosperity, there was still “a massive difference” between the standard of living in
different parts of the borough.
Coun Holt urged the council’s Conservative administration to commit to a concerted effort to close the gap.
“It does seem, however you look at the data, Solihull is becoming increasingly polarised between the richest and the poorest areas.
“So can the cabinet member outline what the council is going to do differently over the next five years to try to make sure the next report paints a better picture?”
Coun Courts hit back, arguing that while the survey was published this year, much of the data was collected several years ago, when unemployment was far higher. He also defended the record of the council in addressing inequality.
“The gap in attainment [for GCSE students] between North Solihull’s schools and the rest of Solihull has gone down from 61 per cent in 2004/05 to 22 per cent in 2012/13.
“Now that is a statistic I’m proud of, that is a statistic I intend to push hard. That’s what’s important, not some – dare I say it – rather meaningless national statistics.”
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