State of the Region

IRS Framework Objectives 1-5 (Social)

The social theme assesses progress towards objectives relating to housing, improving public health, cultural participation, community safety and social capital.

Homelessness has decreased in the region in the past year, in line with decreases nationally. This counters the increase in homelessness in recent years and reflects the impact of policy interventions to tackle the problem of homelessness. In 2005/06 there were 2,079 affordable housing completions compared to 1,406 in 2004/05. Although this is a sizeable increase from last year it remains below the Regional Spatial Strategy target of 3,950 per annum. The issues of affordability and affordable housing targets are now being reviewed in much more detail by the ten Housing market Assessments across the region. The Housing Market assessments were produced by De Montfort University for the East Midlands Regional Assembly and are contained in the ‘Housing in the East Midlands – Profile Information for the Housing Market Areas of the East Midlands’ report published March 2006.

Some indicators of the health of the East Midlands population continue to show marked improvements – premature death rates from circulatory disease and cancer are falling and life expectancy is increasing. These improvements are apparent in areas of the region with relatively poor health as well as in areas with relatively good health. However there are few signs that inequalities in health in the region at county/unitary authority level decreased between the 1990s and early 2000s.

The heritage, culture and recreational activity area remains one where regular monitoring data is not readily available. This is in the process of being addressed with the development of the Regional Cultural Observatory which was established in 2006 as a ‘cultural arm’ of Intelligence East Midlands. Currently the indicators used reflect a limited range of activities such as visits to libraries and archives. A wider perspective across the region, covering other sporting and recreational activities, shows a region that encompasses a community with wide and varied interests.

The figures for levels of worry about crime have shown an improvement in the East Midlands since the early 2000’s reflecting the decline in crime committed. Violent crime at 17.0% shows the largest proportion of people with a high level worry compared to 14.0% for burglary and 15.0% for car crimes. Thefts of or from a vehicle continue to decrease in the East Midlands falling from 1,430 per 100,000 population in 2004/05 to 1,300 per 100,000 population in 2005/06 which is below the rate for the nation as a whole. Burglary rates have been increasing in the East Midlands since the 1990’s but more recently have shown a significant decline. In 2004/05, the East Midlands rate was 1,571 per 100,000 population compared with 1,300 per 100,000 population in 2005/06. This is not much higher than the rate for England. As the information for the county/unitary authority areas shows, the level of crime varies across the region and tends to be higher in the urban areas.

Social capital is a broad concept that attempts to encapsulate social, civic and community participation. It has proven to be a concept that has not been easy to measure. The current indicator used in this report, i.e. electoral participation, is limited in is frequency and in the aspects of social capital it captures.

IRS Framework Objectives 6-10 (Environmental)

The environmental theme assesses progress towards objectives relating to the diversity and quality of the environment, and to management and use of resources. The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and the Regional Environment Strategy set out in some detail the policies and actions required in this area. The regional objectives in the Integrated Regional Strategy (IRS) are to protect and manage the rich diversity of natural and cultural assets of the region; enhance and conserve the quality of the environment; manage prudently the natural resources and involve people through a change in their lifestyles thereby improving the quality of life for East Midland residents.

A significant percentage of habitat has been lost and what remains is often fragmented – restricting the range of the species. The region has the smallest number of protected areas of all English regions. Intensification of agriculture has exacerbated the decline in biodiversity. The condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is improving and moving towards the national average.

Water supplies in the East Midlands come from a range of sources including large reservoirs, rivers, boreholes and wells from underground reserves in aquifers. The East Midlands population is estimated to grow by about 400,000 by 2025, though while individually the additional households should be more water-efficient, they are likely to increase total demand for water. Taking the projected population growth and use together, increases of up to 40% in household demand could occur by 2025. However, if sustainable water use patterns prevail, demand could fall by as much as 20%.

Air quality within the region is generally good but is declining along the major transport routes through the region. As much as 80% of the greenhouse gases produced by the region is from energy production or consumption, with power stations emitting 46% of the greenhouse gases in the East Midlands. Road transport (14%), domestic energy (14%), business and industrial energy use (7%), also all contribute.

Environmental infrastructure entails taking an integrated and strategic approach to the delivery of environmental infrastructure at the same time as decisions are made on other forms of infrastructure (transport or social). This means ensuring the provision of new green infrastructure, the use of sustainable construction and design, drainage systems and environmental work in rural areas and the joining up of existing environmental funding streams into a single Regional Environmental Infrastructure Fund (REIF).

IRS Framework Objectives 11-13 (Economic)

The economic theme assesses the performance of the region in terms of employment, skills, economic growth and productivity. Much of this section draws on the evidence base produced for the Regional Economic Strategy review process and is available on the Intelligence East Midlands website.

Because of the introduction of the Annual Population Survey comparison with past data needs to be treated with some care as different methodologies are used to collect and present data compared to the Labour Force Survey.

Employment rates in the East Midlands have remained stable since 1996, and have consistently exceeded the national average. According to the Annual Population Survey, the successor to the Labour Force Survey, in 2005, 75.8% of the working age population in the East Midlands was in employment, compared to 74.6% in the UK. However, there are substantial sub-regional variations. Employment tends to be lower in the cities and higher in rural areas and in the south of the region.

The percentage of working age adults with only NVQ level 3 qualifications (A levels or equivalent) is below the national average (42.2% vs. 43.9%) but has been increasing. 37.3% of East Midlands’ employees in 2005 were in knowledge intensive sectors, as defined by Eurostat, compared with the national average of 42.4%.

Gross Value Added (GVA) per head has continued to increase in the East Midlands but still lags behind the average for England as a whole. Productivity as measured by GVA per hour worked in the East Midlands has improved relative to England as a whole even if it remains slightly below the national average. While this is to be welcomed it is still the case that the UK as a whole lags behind a number of other countries such as France, Germany and the USA in terms of productivity.

There has been an increase in business start ups in the East Midlands but the rate of registrations still lags behind that of the nation as a whole. The growth in the registration of firms is in part a response to the changing industrial structure and policies to support business start ups.

Business Enterprise Research & Development (BERD) is the total cost of Research & Development carried out in the business sector. Expenditure on Research and Development was 1.5% of Gross Value Added in the East Midlands in 2003 compared to 1.8% of Gross Value Added in 2002 and is below the national figure of 1.6% of GVA.

The proportion of businesses trading online has been increasing in the East Midlands. By the end of 2005 99.9% of the East Midlands had access to broadband up from 94% in 2004 and effectively meets the regional target of full regional coverage by 2006.

IRS Framework Objectives 14-17 (Spatial)

The spatial theme addresses a number of issues such as ensuring that the location of development makes efficient use of existing physical infrastructure and helps to reduce the need to travel; promoting and ensuring high standards of sustainable design and construction, optimising the use of previously developed land and buildings; minimising waste and increasing the re-use and recycling of waste materials; improving accessibility to jobs and services by increasing the use of public transport, cycling and walking and reducing traffic growth and congestion.

According to the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) Annual Monitoring Report 2005/06 overall the region had committed 3,086 hectares (ha) of land for employment purposes. Around 250 hectares of employment land was developed in 2005/06, with Derbyshire and Northamptonshire completing over 85 hectares each. Much of the recent developments have been associated with warehouse/distribution facilities. Pressure for the development of land for B8 uses, particularly along the M1 corridor is significant and will continue because of the locational advantages of such sites for distribution companies.

A number of regional studies have been undertaken into employment land in recent years by the Regional Planning Body and emda. These include the Quality of Employment Land Supply Study (QUELS) 2002, and the Regional Employment Land Priority Study (RELPS) 2003. The Regional Employment Land Supply study (RELS) was commissioned by the Regional Planning Body in 2006 to update and extend the quantitative element of the original QUELS Study. This study considered employment growth projections commissioned by emda, current employment land supply and levels of past take up.

Land in employment use stays almost constant, while employment grows substantially with a massive shift of jobs from industrial uses to offices. Floorspace per worker in offices is around half that in industrial uses. The result is large-scale growth in employment with little or no growth in floorspace and land occupied. The shift from industrial to office uses means that, while total land in employment use hardly changes, the industrial and office sub-totals do change considerably.

Dwellings built on previously developed land/brownfield sites or conversions as a percentage of total additions to stock have increased in almost all country/unitary authority areas in the East Midlands. In 2005/06, 67.6% of East Midlands’ housing development was on previously developed land compared to 61.9% in 2004/05.

The Regional Technical Advisory Body on Waste (RTAB) brings together the key interests within the East Midlands to advise on waste issues. The East Midlands Regional Waste Strategy (January 2006), produced by the Regional Assembly, is a strategic framework to identify the key issues which must be addressed to make a step change for the way in which waste is managed. There has been an increase in the amount of household waste composted or recycled in the East Midlands from 8.6% in 1998 to 32.7% in 2005/06.

The East Midlands along with the South West had the highest growth in traffic with an increase of 21% on major roads between 1995 and 2005. The number of vehicle kilometres travelled in the East Midlands in 2005 was 40,633 million compared to 38,075 million in 2001. Congestion remains a difficult issue to measure particularly at the regional level. The local authorities in and around the Three Cities sub area (Nottingham, Leicester and Derby) have been allocated £1.8 million for an in depth investigation of all the possible options for tackling traffic problems and improving roads and public transport in the sub region. The investigation will be completed by April 2008. 

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