Our South Tyneside 2024

Our second annual Our South Tyneside Report is designed to be a useful reference document, providing a snapshot of the latest data across a wide range of themes and indicators. It is intended to help residents, Elected Members, employees and partners alike gain a better understanding of the people and places within South Tyneside.

This supports the Council’s ongoing commitment to making fair, transparent and evidence based decisions

As part of this, you will soon be able to find data about our borough on our interactive data observatory. You will also be able to find other publications we produce, including our monthly economic reports, public health intelligence reports, and other research activities.

It complements the Council’s new Annual and Quarterly Performance Reports, which provide an up to date view of performance and progress against the key projects set out in our three year strategy

Our main findings from our 2023 report are that:

• Our Economy has real specialisms in advanced manufacturing, the low carbon economy, hospitality and tourism, but our productivity, output, skills, pay, economic activity and employment levels continue to lag behind.
• Our children have above-national-average attainment at nursery and primary school level and our schools are highly rated by OFSTED. However, performance falls behind at GCSE.
• Our Health and Wellbeing picture is challenging with higher rates of residents with health challenges, long-term conditions, obesity and/or mental health disorders. There is a clear link between health outcomes and wider social determinants, such as employment and housing
• Our Independence and Ageing section describes how life expectancy locally is beneath the national average. We have comparatively lower rates of hospital admissions for falls but admissions to residential and nursing care are nearly double the national average
• As a coastal community, our Environment helps to make South Tyneside special. We produce comparatively less carbon emissions than regionally or nationally and have good access to green spaces and leading tourism assets (but a low percentage of overnight stays)
• Our Places have good transport and digital connectivity (although we lag behind on future-proofed broadband) and perceptions of safe neighbourhoods are above the regional average
• Our Deprivation and Inequality is marked with the borough the 27th most deprived out of all local authorities nationally, and have high rates of child poverty. Yet we are one of the least deprived for our living environment with significant recent improvement
• There are real differences across our borough with disadvantage concentrated in particular parts of South Tyneside and a real polarisation between our more deprived and less deprived wards across income, digital access, skills, occupation, unemployment and many other indicators
• Demand for Children’s Social Care support continues to exceed that regionally and nationally but has reduced over the last year.

The aftermath of the pandemic and the threats of rising inflation and skills shortages present multiple challenges.

Such challenges include; our economy making the transition towards Net Zero; our towns adapting to changing shopping and working habits; the mismatch between labour market supply and demand; the need for upskilling and retraining (and to boost aspiration); the effect of the pandemic and cost of living crisis upon mental health and young people’s progress; the growth of multiple long-term conditions; an ageing population and the challenges around reablement; the importance of robust and resilient transport and digital connectivity; the rising cost of living and prevalence of entrenched poverty.

This section provides a summary of data regarding the population and demography of our borough.

• Population: 147,800
• 48.7% Male, 51.3% Female (largely unchanged over the past decade)
• 26.9% of our population are under 24
• 60.8% of the population are of working age (between 16-64) which is comparable to the regional and national averages (61.7% and 62.9% respectively) and has fallen in line with national trends.
• 68,287 households
• 20.1% of our residents have two or more long-term health conditions or disability, at least one of which being musculoskeletal. Compared to 17.5% regionally and 13.4% nationally.
• There is a large level of out-commuting from the borough as 31,000 of our 62,000 employed residents work outside of the borough.

The age make up of our population largely mirrors the regional and national picture, although we have a larger share of our population in older age groups; 20.4% of our residents are aged over 65. Compared to 20% in the North East and 18.6% in the UK.

There are at least 77 different languages spoken throughout South Tyneside

• By 2030 our population is forecast to be 155,694
• By 2040 our population is forecast to be 158,825
• Our working age population is projected to fall by 1% between 2018 and 2028 (similar to the North East, but below the national 2% growth rate), while the number of over 65s is likely to grow locally by 20% (slightly above the regional and national projections).
• 0.54% our jobs density figure (ratio of number of jobs to number of working age population) is well below the North East (0.75) and national (0.85) averages, leading to significant out-commuting.

This section provides a summary of data regarding the economy of our borough.

• South Tyneside's economy has an annual value of £1.84bn and is a key contributor to the wider North East economy.
• Based on our heritage, natural assets, transport links and skilled workforce, we have real local strengths in advanced manufacturing, energy and offshore, the low carbon economy, health and social care, hospitality and tourism.(All industries where our proportion of employment is higher than the national average)

Infrastructure

The borough enjoys excellent regional and national infrastructure links.

Economy

• South Tyneside economy continues to be shaped by its riverside and coastal location
• A higher-than-average proportion of South Tyneside jobs are in manufacturing.

  Employment and businesses in the borough are concentrated in those sectors and in foundational industries such as health and social care, education, retail and construction.

• The number of businesses in South Tyneside has decreased by 1.8% over the last year to 3,325. Of these, 97.8% (3,250) are micro and small enterprises. It’s likely that many small businesses have suffered closures as a result of rising energy costs and supply chain issues.
• 69% of businesses were confident they could achieve their ambitions in South Tyneside in 2022.

Economic output and productivity per worker, however, lag behind the national average. Gross Value Added (GVA) per filled job has fallen over the past decade in contrast to the North East and UK (widening the productivity gap as we are at 73% of the national average) However, the total number of employee jobs in the borough has risen since last year, from 41,000 to 49,000 and a reliance upon public sector employment continues (22% of employment, compared to 18% nationally).

Employment

• 62.4% of the local population are employed. Compared to a regional average of 71.6% and national average of 75.8%.
• 9.1% 18-24s in receipt of unemployment benefits. Compared to the national average of 5%
• 5.2% of residents in receipt of unemployment benefits
• 26.1% of residents have NVQ4 and above level qualifications (equivalent to a higher education certificate), compared to 33.8% of people nationally
• 73.6% South Tyneside's GB's Gross Value Added (GVA) per hour worked (2020). Demonstrating lower levels of productivity potentially due to our mix of employment sectors.
• 6.7% of the population are unemployed, above the regional (4.2%) and national (3.7%) averages. Our economic activity rates are 71.7%, lower than the regional (74.7%) and national (78.8%) rates.
• Pay and income rates are below the regional and national averages with Gross weekly pay £600 in our borough (compared to £666 nationally) and household disposable income at £16,910 in South Tyneside compared to £17,663 regionally and £21,679 nationally.

This section provides a summary of data regarding attainment at different ages, children in care and childhood health.

• 29,658 children and young people aged under 18 living in South Tyneside.
• 45 primary schools. 8 secondary schools. 5 special schools. 1 college
• 93% of South Tyneside's educational providers were classed as good or outstanding by Ofsted. As of January 2024.
• 6% of primary school pupils, 6.2% of secondary school pupils speak a first language other than English.

Education and Attainment

• 66.1% of children reaching a good level of development at foundation stage (age 5). Compared to 64.1% regionally and 65.2% nationally.
• 51% free school meal eligible children in South Tyneside achieve a good level of development at foundation stage Compared to 49.1% nationally.
• 62% of pupils achieve the expected standard across reading, writing and maths, at Key Stage 2. Compared to the national average of 49.1%.
• 45% of KS2 pupils on free school meals achieve the expected standard. Compared to 44% nationally.
• 37% of GCSE pupils achieve a pass of 5 and above (A-C) in both English and Maths. Compared to 41.7% regionally and 45.3% nationally.
• 44 is the average South Tyneside 'Attainment 8' score, (measuring achievement in pupil's top 8 GCSEs). Compared to 46.3 regionally and 44.6 nationally.
• 35.8 is the local average Attainment 8 score for free school meal eligible pupils. Compared to 36.1 nationally.
• 33.4 was the average for local pupils with SEN support. Comapred to 33.2 nationally and 31.7 regionally.
• 33.02 is the average A-Level point score per entry. Compared to 35.16 nationally.
• 17.8% of South Tyneside students received at least AAB at A-Level in 2023. Compared to 18.7% regionally and 22% nationally.
• 10.5% of South Tyneside A-Level students received 3 A-A* grades in 2023. Compared to 13.3% regionally and 10.7% nationally.
• 42.3% of pupils in state-funded schools in South Tyneside progressed to Higher Education by age 19. Lower than 44.4% nationally but in line with the 40.4% regional average.
• 22% of local free school meal eligible young residents go on to Higher Education at age 19, compared to 46.8% of their ineligible peers (Nationally, 29.2% of FSM-eligible pupils go onto HE)
• 91.32% of South Tyneside 16-17 year olds are in education or training Compared to the regional (91.4%) and national average (92.9%).
• 4.6% of 16-17 year olds are Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET). Compared to 2.6% nationally and identical to the regional average, which as seen a gross increase over the last 3 years.

Children and Families Social Care

As at year-end March 2022

• The rate of South Tyneside children in care is 96 per 100,000. Compared to 70 per 10,000 nationally, and 110 regionally. Statistical neighbours have a rate of 126.5.
• 30.5% of looked after children in South Tyneside have a statement of SEN/EHCP.

  This is compared to looked after children with SEN nationally (30.2%) and the proportion of children in the general local population with some level of special educational needs (26.8%).

• 192 children in South Tyneside were subject to a child protection plan in March 2023.
• 518.5 children per 10,000 (1645 children) in South Tyneside identified as children in need. Compared to the national rate of 334.8 per 10,000 and the regional rate of 470.7.
• There are 12 South Tyneside Family Hubs which offer welcoming and friendly places where all children, young people, parents and carers can access support, information and help. Services are provided from conception through to 19 years and up to 25 years for young people with additional needs.

Childhood Health and Wellbeing

• 27.3% of local children in reception class are classified as having excess weight (including obesity) Compared to 25.2% regionally and 21.3% nationally.
• 12.4% of reception children classified as obese or severely obese Compared to 11.3% regionally and 9.2% nationally. This is an improvement over recent years, having been at 16.1% in 2020/21, though still high.
• 41.1% of local Year 6 children have excess weight Compared to 39.9% regonally and 36.57% nationally.
• 26.1% of local year 6 children are classified as obese Compared to 25.8% regionally and 22.7% nationally, and up notably over recent years.

There is a strong relationship between deprivation and childhood obesity, with obesity prevalence nationally almost twice as high for children in the most deprived 10% of the country compared to the 10% most affluent.

Childhood immunisation coverage in South Tyneside

• 92.7% of children had 2 doses of the MMR immunisation at age 5. Compared to 90.4% regionally and 84.5% nationally.
• 96.9% of local infants had the 5-in-1 (Dtap/IPV/Hib) vaccination. Compared to 95.1% regionally and 91.8% nationally.

• 128.4 per 10,000 children and young people aged 0-14 were admitted to hospital due to unintentional and deliberate injury in 2021/22. Significantly higher than the England rate of 84.31.
• 912.1 per 10,000 local young people in the 15-19 age group were admitted to hospital for self-harm in 2021. Much higher than the regional rate of 808.4 and the national rate of 664.7.
• For younger teenagers (aged 10-14), the South Tyneside admission rate was at 236.8. This was lower than the regional rate of 265.7 but higher than the national rate of 219.8.
• 483.3 per 10,000 young people aged between 0 and 24 were hospitalised for self harm in 2021. This was low when compared to 536.6 regionally but higher than the national rate of 439.2.
• There were 35 teenage conceptions in local under 18s in 2019, a rate of 15 per 10,000.

This section provides a summary of data regarding adult health and wellbeing in our borough.

• 8.1% of the South Tyneside 17+ population (10,026 people) have diabetes. Compared to 7.3% nationally and 8% regionally.
• 16.1% of the population (25,682 South Tyneside residents) have hypertension (high blood pressure). Compared to 16% regionally and 14% nationally.
• 24.8% of South Tyneside residents report a long term musculo-skeletal problem (such as arthritis). Compared to 23.1% regionally and 18.4% nationally.
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) emergency rates are at 740 per 100,000 population (over 35) in South Tyneside. Compared to 638 per 100,000 regionally and 415 per 100,000 nationally.

Disabilities (as of 2022)

• 2.2% (2832) of local adults aged 18+ have a learning disability.

This includes:

• 1163 people with an autistic spectrum disorder.
• 584 people with a moderate or severe learning disability.
• 57 people with Downs Syndrome.

• 5.7% South Tyneside working age adults aged 18-65 are estimated to have impaired mobility (5728 people)
• 2.4% of local adults have severe hearing loss (2965 people).
• 23% have some hearing impairment or loss (18,573 people).
• 2.2% of local adults over 18 have a severe visual impairment. While this is skewed mainly towards the older population, it also includes 59 working age adults (0.06% of local people aged 18-64).

Carers

• 4.5% of South Tyneside residents provide 19 or less hours of unpaid care a week
• 3.5% of residents provide over 50+ hours of unpaid care per week

Mental Health

• 19.1% of the population of South Tyneside aged 16 or over are estimated to have a common mental health disorder (including any type of depression or anxiety). Compared to the regional estimate of 18.2% and the England-wide estimate of 16.9%.
• 265.9 per 100,000 local residents had an emeorgency hospital admission for intentional self-harm in 2020-21. Compared to the regional rate of 265.9 and the national rate of 163.9.

Health Risk Behaviours (as of 2023)

• 20.5% of 11-17 year olds nationwide stated that they had tried vaping While it is not possible to provide a reliable demographic breakdown around vaping in South Tyneside, it’s likely that the increased prevalence and use of vapes, specifically disposable vapes, is replicated locally too.
• Smoking attributable mortality was at 315.7 per 100,000 in South Tyneside in 2017-19. Compared to 202.2 per 100,000 England wide.
• 76.3% of adults aged 18+ in South Tyneside are classified as overweight or obese. Compared to regionally (70.5%) and nationally (63.8%).
• 28.1% of South Tyneside adults are physically inactive. Compared to 25% regionally and 22.3% nationally.
• 61.5% of South Tyneside adults are physically active. Compared to 65.4% regionally and 67.3% nationally
• 49.1% of children and young people are physically active. Compared to regional and national rates, both at 47.2%
• South Tyneside's overall sexually transmitted infection diagnosis rate is 485 per 100,000. Compared to 368 per 100,000 regionally and 496 nationally, with continual decreases over recent years.
• There were 1174 hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions in 2020/21. A rate of 52.3 per 100,000. Compared to 54.7 regionally and 43.7 nationally.
• 78 people died in South Tyneside in 2020 as a result of conditions related to alcohol.As a rate per 100,000 head of population, this is 50.6, compared to 50.4 regionally and 38.5 nationally.
• An estimated 1,129 users people died in South Tyneside in 2020 as a result of conditions related to alcohol. At a rate per 100,000 head of population, this is 53.8, worse than both the regional rate (49) and the England rate (37.8).
• 53 deaths from drug misuse in South Tyneside between 2018 and 2020. A rate of 12.6 per 100,000, compared to 9.9 regionally and 5.0 nationally.

Preventative Health - Screenings and Immunisations

• 76.2% of eligible South Tyneside women aged 25 to 49 participated in a cervical cancer screening in 2021. Compared to 67.6% regionally and 72.7% nationally
• 74.9% of eligible 50-64 year old women came forward for a cervical cancer screening. Compared to the regional average of 75.7% and national average of 74.6%.
• 70.8% of eligible South Tyneside residents came forward for a bowel cancer screening in 2021. Compared to the national average of 70.3% and the regional 72.5%.
• 71.2% of eligible South Tyneside women came forward for a breast cancer screening within 6 months of their invitiation in 2021. Compared to the regional average of 67.1% and the national average of 65.2%.
• 83.6% of South Tyneside people aged 65+ took up the offer of a free seasonal flu immunisation in 2020/21. Compared to the regional proportion of 85.5% and the national 82.3%
• 55.4% of South Tyneside people under 65 classed as high risk took up the offer of a free seasonal flu immunisation in 2021/22. Compared to the regional proportion of 59.9% and the national 52.9%.
• 61.9% of South Tyneside primary school pupils took up the offer of a flu jab. Compared to the regional proportion of 58.2% and the national 56.3%.

This section provides a summary of data regarding independence and ageing well in our borough.

76.4 years for men and 81.2 years for women are the average life expectancies for a resident in South Tyneside. Nationally, average male life expectancy is 79.4 and average female life expectancy is 83.1.

57.3 years for men and 58.9 years for women are the average numbers of years after birth a person can expect to live healthily, prior to having any activity-limiting conditions. Average male healthy life expectancy is 63.1 nationally and 59.1 regionally, while female healthy life expectancy is 63.9 nationally and 59.7 regionally.

Life expectancy varies considerably by ward:

Health and Disability in Older Age

Of South Tyneside's over 65s:

• 18% have impaired mobility.
• 54% have some hearing loss.
• 9% have a moderate or severe visual impairment.

Dementia

• 3.98% of South Tyneside residents aged 65 or over are estimated to have dementia. Similar to the national rate of 3.97% and regional rate of 4.09%.
  estimated dementia diagnosis rate is 69.1% Compared to the national rate of 63% and regional rate of 69.6%.

Frailty and falls

• 685 emergency hospital admissions due to falls in people aged 65 and over in South Tyneside in 2021/22, a rate of 2,236 per 100,000. Compared to the national rate of 2100 per 100,000.
• Emergency hospital admissions due to falls were notably higher in the age group 65-79, with a rate of 1,132 admissions per 100,000. Compared to 993 per 100,000 nationally.
• 195 hip fractures in over 65s, a rate of 640 hip fractures per 100,000 people aged 65 or over. Compared to the national average of 551.
• Hip fractures occurred in numbers higher than the national average in those aged 65-79, with a rate of 265 admissions per 100,000. Compared to 236 per 100,000 nationally.

People who draw upon Adult Social Care Support

• 261 people admitted to residential care per 100,000 65+, a rate of 847. Compared to the national rate of 539 per 100,000 and the regional rate of 739 per 100,000.
• 76.1% of people aged 65 and over were still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into reablement services Compared to 82.3% nationally.
• 62.2% of adult social care service users aged 65+ are satisfied with their care and support services Compared to the national rate of 64.4%.
• 73.1% of adult social care service users aged 65+ feel that they have control over their daily lives Compared to the national proportion of 73.7%.

Preventable and Premature Mortality

• 454.6 per 100,000 is the under 75 mortality rate from all causes. Compared to the national rate of 363.4
• The under 75 mortality rate from causes considered preventable is at 251.7 per 100,000. Compared to the national rate of 183.2 per 100,000.

This section provides a summary of data regarding the environment of our borough.

As a coastal community, our environment and coastline are what makes South Tyneside special.

• 60% of our land area is classified as urban. Although the average number of people per park or green space is in line with the regional average, but double that of the UK.

• 5 parks with green flags. South Marine Park, Readhead Park West Park, in South Shields and West Park, Monkton Dene Park in Jarrow.
• Trees canopy coverage in South Tyneside is 16%, ahead of the national average for coastal towns of 15%.

Carbon emissions

Our carbon emissions per capita are 3.1 tonnes. Compared to 4.1 for both the North East and the UK. Emissions have fallen steadily since 2005 and are down from 5.6 tonnes per head of population in 2005, 4.9 in 2010 and 3.9 in 2015.

Recycling

On recycling, the pandemic clearly impacted upon the nature of the waste collected and recycling habits. Whilst Blue bin material increased significantly, this was outstripped by residual waste, impacting the recycling rate. These general issues and outcomes are seen across England to differing degrees.

Our recycling rate in 2022 was 32.4% down from 32% in 2020 and 37% in 2015. This compares to the 39.4% national average amd we are amongst the three lowest local authorities in the North East.

Our rates of household waste are higher than the national average (624.82kg per person compared to 536.61kg).

Green spaces

• 399 metres is the average distance to the nearest park, playing field or public garden in South Tyneside. Less than half that of the national figure of 983.61 metres.
• 4.59 is the average number of public parks or gardens within 1km in South Tyneside. Compared to 4.58 in the North East and 2.42 in England.

Cultural offer

Our environment is a key part of our leisure and cultural offer.

• In 2019 there were 7.1 million visitors to South Tyneside in 2022 there were 6.3 million visitors to South Tyneside. but still below pre-pandemic levels.
• 94% of visitors are day visitors.
• 47% of population engaged in arts and culture. Compared to 45% North East average.
• Sandhaven beach was awarded blue flag status in 2023
• There are 9,200 members of the leisure service in South Tyneside. This is a record high (data as of Nov 23). Demand in the leisure centres remains high with increased admissions to pool space, gyms and fitness class programmes.

This section provides a summary of data regarding the places in our borough, with a particular focus upon crime and community safety, housing and digital and transport connectivity.

Crime

• 15,159 crimes in South Tyneside in 2022/23.

  Up 6.7% on the year before, a higher rise than across the Northumbria Police force area as a whole (up 5%).

  2022/23 saw particularly large increases in shoplifting and theft from a vehicle, which have doubled year on year. Biggest crime in 22/23 was violence against the person without injury, 2751 offences.

• There were 286 cases of hate crimes in South Tyneside 2022/23. Racism was the most prevalent with 159 cases, followed by homophobia (55 cases) and hate crimes towards people with disabilities (48 cases). There were 11 and 13 cases of transphobic and faith hate crimes, respectively.
• Surveys show that 23% believe ASB is a very or fairly big problem in their neighbourhood

  Compared to 24% across the Northumbria Police Force area. Likewise, 96% of people felt safe in their neighbourhood in the borough (compared to 94.8% across the force area).

In November 2023, the number of reported ASB incidents remained unchanged when compared to the previous year. Overall 25% of reported ASB incidents were related to young people, and there was a 13% decrease in youth related incidents.

The number of young people involved in crime 2023 has decreased from 358 to 319. The top crime reported by the Youth Justice Service was Violence Against the Person.

• 2540 cases of domestic violence, (Apr-Sep 23) as compared to 2525 in the same period in 2022. Domestic abuse incidents have increased year on year since 2017/18, with a reported increase of 8.68 % in 2022/23.

Housing

• 67,167 dwellings in the borough.

  57.1% of our residents live in privately owned homes (27.1% owed with a mortgage, 30% owned outright), 29.6% of households live in social rented accommodation (23% in rented council homes, 6.6% in other social rented homes), and 13% of households live in privately rented accommodation, with the remainder having other types of tenure including shared ownership.

• There is less homelessness in South Tyneside than the regional or national averages.

  There are 0.1 people rough sleeping per 1,000 households in our borough compared to 0.6 in the North East and 0.2 in the UK.

• As of Nov 2023, The average cost of a house in South Tyneside is £171,943 Compared to regional £163,368, national £301,613. Local prices are 57% of the national average.

  Our property prices to annual earnings ratio has fallen to 5.02, slightly higher than the regional ratio of 4.96, though markedly lower than the English average (8.16). It should be noted that the latest data available regarding property prices to annual earnings ratio is for 2022.

Transport & Digital Connectivity

Transport and digital connectivity are both crucially important for residents and businesses in South Tyneside. This is particularly the case as the borough has lower levels of car access than other areas;

• 32.7% of households do not have access to a car. Compared to 27.6% in the North East and 23.5% in the UK.
• 86% of residents are satisfied with pavements, footpaths and pedestrian areas
• 61% of residents are happy with the current provision of cycle lanes and routes. Higher than national satisfaction rate (48.5%).

• 11.4% full fibre coverage. Compared to 40% nationally.
• 98% Superfast broadband coverage

  Gigabit-capable broadband connectivity (83.1%) is above the national average (46%) but we lag behind on full fibre broadband and, while our 4G coverage is 99.7%, there are significant pockets of poor coverage, particularly by the coastline.

This section provides a summary of data regarding deprivation in our borough.

South Tyneside is a special and unique place, but the Borough does have significant challenges, including areas of high deprivation, and, as a North East coastal area, there is a strong legacy of intergenerational skills and health challenges within our communities.

IMD sub-category rankings

• 3rd most deprived for employment
• 13th most deprived for average income
• 15th most deprived for health
• 69th most deprived for crime
• 75th most deprived for education, skills and training.

• 16.9% of pupils have special education need support. (vs 12.2% in England and 13.7% in similar areas) and 4.3% have a EHCP (vs 3.7% in England and across statistical neighbours).
• 32.9% of primary school children
  29.1% of secondary school pupils
  are entitled to free school meals Compared to the national rates of 23.1% and 20.9% for primary and secondary schools, respectively.

Child Poverty

• 35.6% under 16s (11,021) living in relative low income households as of 2021/22.

• Disjoint between number of residents out of work and available jobs (February 2022)
  • 4,695 unemployed residents not including the economically inactive.
  • 1606 unique job postings in South Tyneside from 440 employers in December 2023.
• Children achieving expected development standards in both early years, foundation stage and Key Stage 1 are consistently above the national position.
• 20.5% is the proportion of our working age population without any qualifications.
• 26.3% of households are workless as of December 2022. Compared to 19.7% regionally and 13.9% in the UK.
• 36.3% of South Tyneside residents who are claiming universal credit are in work, suggesting high levels of in-work poverty.
• South Tyneside is ranked one of the least deprived Local Authorities in the country for living environment. Relative deprivation in relation to barriers to housing and services has improved significantly in recent years (now at 266th most deprived).
• As of 2021 9,690 households in the borough are classified as fuel ppor. However, in spite of the Cost-of-Living crisis, we now expect this to be far higherr, with a highest prevalence in Cleadon Park and Bede.

Our Economic Inactivity rates currently stand at 28.9%, the highest in the North East (25.3% avg.) despite a 1.6 percentage point decrease in the last 12 months. The national average currently stands at 21.1%.

There are real differences in our borough at ward level across all the themes of this report, from population and economy to health and deprivation. We have picked out some of the most notable examples.

Country of origin

South Tyneside’s residents were born in over 150 different countries.

Gender identity

0.4% of South Tyneside’s residents identify with a gender different to the one they were assigned to at birth.

Self reported health

7.4% of South Tyneside residents are in bad or very bad health. Compared to national 6.7%.

Amongst the wards with the highest rates of poor health are Simonside and Rekendyke (10.5%), Primrose (10.1%) and 9.9%.

Cleadon and East Boldon has the least prevalence of bad or very bad health, with a rate of 4.3%. For reference, the next lowest rate is Westoe at 7%.

Age

17.9% of South Tyneside residents are under 16. Biddick and All Saints has the highest proportion of Under 16s (24.7%), whilst Westoe has the lowest (12.8%).

20.9% of South Tyneside residents are Over 65 Cleadon and East Boldon has the highest proportion of Over 65s (28.1%), whilst Hebburn North has the lowest (16.8%).

Old people (65+) living alone

37.1% of over 65’s are living alone in South Tyneside This is most prevalent in Simonside and Rekendyke (47.7%), Harton (40.7%) and Hebburn North (40%). The national average is 31.5%.

Unemployment benefits

4,685 of South Tyneside residents were claiming unemployment benefits In November 2023 or 5.2% of the population, compared to the national 3.7%

The highest concentration of claimants were found in Beacon and Bents (8.9%), Simonside and Rekendyke (8.5%) and Biddick and All Saints (7.8%).

Qualifications

20.5% of South Tyneside residents have no qualifications. Compared to the national average of 18.1%

This lack of qualifications is most prevalent in Simonside (25.9%), Biddick Hill (25.8%) and South Shields West (25.7%).

Amongst those with the highest level of qualifications (NVQ Level 4 or above) are Cleadon and East Boldon (45.7%), West Boldon (37.2%) and Harton West (35%).

Child poverty

Child poverty rates in South Tyneside are at an estimated 35.6% 39.7% of children (6,703) in South Shields and 34.3% in Jarrow (5,987) are estimated to be living in poverty as of 2021/22. This does not cover the period in which the cost of living and rapidly increasing inflation took hold, therefore this number is likely higher at present.

Fuel poverty estimates

13.9% of South Tyneside households are estimated to experience fuel poverty, that’s 9,690 homes.

This is most prevalent in West Park (18.3%), Bede (16.9%) and Beacon and Bents (16.7%). England average is 10.7%

Older People in Poverty

(Income Deprivation Affecting Older People % of people aged 60 or over receiving income support, income based JSA, pension credit or child tax credit)

21.4% of Over 60s in South Tyneside experience income deprivation

This is most prevalent in Bede (32.8%), Simonside and Rekendyke (30.7%) and Primrose (27.7%).

Cleadon and East Boldon has the lowest rates of poverty in over 60s (5.3%).

The national average is 14.2%.

This report provides a ‘snapshot’ of South Tyneside. Some of the data presented is routinely collected by South Tyneside Council or other government agencies as part of the management and delivery of service.

This includes data like the number of people claiming universal credit (from the Department for Work & Pensions) or the number of children eligible for Free School Meals (from the Department for Education).

Some data within this report are from the most recent (2021) Census (Office for National Statistics), which is carried out every 10 years and gives us the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales and is used to plan and fund services the population needs.

For a lot of other data sets, it is not practical to ask all people and households. Instead, ‘sample surveys’ are often undertaken to help draw conclusions about a wider population. These ‘inferential statistics’ allow us to draw conclusions and examine trends, but we must be mindful that they may not provide a 100% true figure.

To provide greater certainty, sample survey values are often presented with Confidence Intervals, which are usually given at the 95% level. Confidence intervals provide an estimate of the range of figures within which we can 95% sure the true figure lies. For example, if the percentage of people in employment is estimated to be 70% and the Confidence Interval provided is +/- 5, we can interpret this as: if the survey was repeated 100 times, we would expect that on average, the figure would fall between 65% and 75% 95 times out of 100 (19 in 20).

When we are comparing rates with confidence intervals, it is important to pay attention to whether the ranges provided overlap with each other. When this occurs, we cannot conclude that the true value is higher or lower than the other true value.

Much of the data contained in this report is derived from survey samples. For simplicity, this level of detail is not provided and where this type of data is used, we have not made relative (higher, lower or the same as) comparisons to other geographies.

If you wish to see a visualisation of data about South Tyneside with confidence intervals please see our website and you can learn more about uncertainty in surveys here https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/methodologytopicsandstatisticalconcepts/uncertaintyandhowwemeasureit

The data within this report is from a large range of sources including from the ONS, LG Inform, Office for Health Disparities, Ofcom, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, Department for Transport, Department for Health and Department for Education, as well as being drawn from South Tyneside Council data.

Thanks for taking the time to read the Our South Tyneside Report.

You can find more detailed data, including at ward level, on our interactive data dashboard on the South Tyneside Council website.