Deprivation? Northumberland’s poor, now much worse off.

The release of the 2019 national deprivation figures show that when measured against the indices of multiple deprivation ever more people in Northumberland have slipped into being less well off.

Taking a look at the information issued on deprivation, being in the top 10% or 20% isn’t good as being at number one in this list means that you live in an area that’s bottom of the pile. Its simply Government spin to confuse the public at large and we see that both Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson have made public statements that they want to change the definition of the indices and make the figures easier for people to understand.

88% of Council wards nationally have remained in the top 20% of deprived wards, but luckily for some, 12% of Council areas nationally have shown major improvements, so why can’t they all.

They can’t because of a number of factors but the deciding factor in whether a Council can and does place itself in a position of being able to improve the lives of residents is as always, ‘the will to do it’. The current figures show that our Council doesn’t have that will.

The measure of deprivation splits the Communities we recognise into areas of approximately 600- 650 homes known as low level super output areas. They cross Council wards so do have mixed names but for those who live in the named areas they know where they are.

The most deprived area in the County is 650 homes in Cowpen/Croft which has slipped 472 places towards the foot of the table, falling from 605 when the Tories took power in May 2017 down to 133 today, with all three communities that make up Kitty Brewster falling down the ladder of success making it the most deprived whole Ward in Northumberland.
There are also some huge dives in other areas with Lynemouth dropping 1592 places with ever more people living in poverty and deprivation, the worst performance since Castle Morpeth District Council organised that area, with big shocks in Newbiggin by the Sea, Bedlington East, parts of Ashington and the Isabella/Wensleydale communities being dragged further into the mire.

The Council will argue that some areas have improved, including Cramlington West which has had a major housing scheme opened up its a commuter area for Newcastle with its higher paid employment and that has boosted local wealth but in the main the results have been completely on the dark side and the Council needs to change tack entirely if it wants to see the majority of its residents move out of the poverty trap.

Of course we hear often enough from the Morpeth and Ponteland cluster of Councillors that people in some parts of the County believe deprivation exists in areas where your neighbour doesn’t have a Jag and a Merc. sitting on their drive or where their housekeeper and au pair only work part time but the reality is that since 2017 the Council has allowed its residents to become less well off across most of the South East of the County and have done nothing to aid them at all.

The Tories will of course say that have decided to invest in building some new schools and spending £millions on refurbishing County Hall in Morpeth. In reply we the laymen must point out that its easy to borrow capital finance and build schools and refurbish old offices but its much, much harder to do things that will alter the lives of people.

The positioning of families and neighbourhoods has been made much worse by the complete neglect of services by the Tories on the County Council, the stopping of sure start schemes, the slashing of health visitor numbers, the run down of the third sector, the haemorrhage of cash from youth services and Councillors from the ruling party following the words and actions of Ian Duncan Smith to the letter and using their powers to ensure Northumberland develops a massive underclass. If funded correctly the services organised by the Council and its attached community health services can improve the lot for everyone but the will is definitely not there.