Solihull is "the most polarised" council area in the UK

A SOLIHULL Council report recently admitted that inequality in the borough is worse than anywhere in the country.
Paperwork submitted to the council’s governance committee over the summer recognised there was a massive gulf in living standards, despite the affluence in many villages and suburbs to the south.
Assessing the challenge, the report said: “National deprivation statistics suggest Solihull is the most polarised authority in the country, with 16 per cent of the borough’s neighbourhoods classed among the most deprived in the country and 39 per cent among the least deprived.
“The impacts of this are felt across a broad range of outcomes including educational attainment, employment, crime and health.”
The deepening inequalities in Britain were thrown into the spotlight by recent events in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where families are being squeezed into run-down tower blocks in an area where there are also some of the country’s most expensive properties.
Worryingly, the latest report suggests the divisions in Solihull are even more pronounced, although probably less noticeable because the authority covers a larger geographic area.
Councillor Mark Wilson (Green, Smith’s Wood) suggested one of the main difficulties was the reduced opportunities for people living in the north of the borough.
In particular he highlighted the widely-known disparity in the number of 18-year-olds who went to university in different parts of Solihull.
“Smith’s Wood Primary [Academy] was the highest achieving school in 2016 – in the whole of the borough. These kids have the ability to do whatever they want.
“At 16, GCSE results in the borough are not much different between affluent and less affluent areas. So what goes wrong in the fact there is a 70 per cent disparity between 18-year-olds from Smith’s Wood and Dorridge going to University? The system is not working for those who are less well-off.”
There are concerns this gap may grow following the decision to close the sixth form at Smith’s Wood Sports College, although conversely another local school, the Grace Academy, last month reported that all of the A Level students who had applied for a degree course had got a place.
Councillor Joe Tildesley, the cabinet member responsible for education, has previously said the council has to work harder to deal with the issue.