Performance Update - Quarter 4 / End March 2024

This quarterly report, covering the period up to March 2024, is intended to provide an update on performance against our 20 Year Vision and 3 Year Strategy, which were launched in November 2022, following comprehensive evidence review and stakeholder engagement.

The new Vision – our South Tyneside: a place where people live healthy, happy and fulfilled lives – is supported by five core ‘Ambitions’ – the things we want to achieve for local people over the next 20 years and the things that will guide all that we do.

We want all people in South Tyneside to be:

And we want these things for every resident, so we are committed to:

To deliver the 20-year Vision, we will focus our efforts through a series of clear 3-year Strategies – the first iteration (South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26) is published on the Council’s website.

When Council approved the new Vision and Strategy in November 2022, and in line with our new PROUD Council Values around being ‘open and honest’ and ‘delivering what we say we will’, we set out a clear intention to regularly report on our performance and progress.

The Council’s delivery framework includes robust performance management (indicators, targets and benchmarking), programme management (delivery against project milestones), financial management and budget monitoring (using resources effectively and within budget), and risk mitigation (proactive approach to barriers to delivery).

Cabinet has regular financial oversight through the Quarterly Budget Monitoring Report.

These ‘Performance Update’ Quarterly Reports cover updates on our Key Performance Indicators, as well as progress with our key projects and other activity.

We also produce an Annual Report for Borough Council each January which sets out our progress against the five Ambitions over the previous 12 months.

The Council reviews many performance measures – some data is collected by us, some by partner agencies, like the Police or NHS, and some by Government or national bodies. This data is available at different times and different frequencies, for example monthly, quarterly, yearly, or less frequently.

We will therefore formally report on performance on both a Quarterly and Annual basis. The measures that are updated more regularly will be provided in the Quarterly Cabinet report, as they become available, and the full summary of all key measures will be provided within the Annual Review to Borough Council.

Below is the initial list of measures that will be reported - this list is under constant review and will be refined and added to, as appropriate.

South Tyneside Council serves a diverse population with a range of characteristics and needs.

The borough has a proud heritage, passionate and resilient communities, beautiful natural assets and huge growth potential through excellent connectivity, infrastructure, and business sector-growth. However, like other coastal regions with a strong industrial past, there are also some difficult and entrenched social, economic and health related challenges facing the borough.

These things are important context to our performance updates. Here’s a snapshot of our people and places:

Population

• 147,800 residents
• 48.5% Male, 51.5% Female
• 94.4% White; 2.9% Asian or Asian British; 0.5% Black, African, Carribean or Black British; 1.4% Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group; 0.8% other Ethnic Group. (2021 Census)
• There are 22.94 people per hectare of land in South Tyneside, a high population density compared to the 3.08 per hectare for the North East and 4.34 per hectare for England.
• 17.9% of the population is under 15
• 61.2% are aged 15-64
• 20.9% are 65 and over

Health and Wellbeing

• 51% of our children with free school meal eligible status achieve a good level of development at the end of Reception, compared to 48.7% regionally and 49.1% nationally.
• 59% of our pupils achieve the expected standard across reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2, similar to the regional and national average.
• In 2022/23, 25% of children in Reception and 42% of children in Year 6 were overweight or obese.
• By adulthood, this figure more than doubles; 65.9% of over 18s were overweight or obese in 20/21, compared to 63.5% nationally and 69.7% regionally.
• The rate of deaths from drug misuse has nearly doubled in the last decade and an estimated 1 in 5 South Tyneside residents (aged 16+) suffer from depression or anxiety.
• We have a thriving voluntary community sector in South Tyneside and a real sense of belonging in our communities, award winning natural assets including 6 Green Flag Parks and a Sunday Times Beach of the Year, as well as affordable state-of-the-art leisure facilities - all things we know can contribute to good health and mental wellbeing.
• We have a high rate of domestic abuse in South Tyneside - with 5083 incidents reported in 2023/24.

Jobs and Skills

• 22% of jobs in South Tyneside are in the public sector.
• South Tyneside's major strengths are in advanced manufacturing and the energy and offshore wind supply chain.
• 26.1% of the working age population has NVQ4 and above qualifications, lower than regionally (28.1%) and GB (33.9%).
• 20.5% of the local population have no qualifications, higher than regionally or nationally.
• 4 in 5 businesses surveyed rated South Tyneside a Fair, Good or Excellent place to run a business.

Inequalities

• Average life expectancy in the borough is 76.4 years for males and 81.2 years for females, but we know this varies considerably per ward (up to 12.1 years difference for males).
• The 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ranked South Tyneside as the 23rd most deprived authority out of England's 151 upper tier authorities.
• South Tyneside's gap in the employment rate between people with a physical or mental long-term health condition and the overall employment rate is 14.8 - larger than regionally (13.9) and nationally (10.7).
• Almost 45% of South Tyneside's population live in the most deprived 20% of England.

Communities

• Coverage of 4G networks, superfast and ultrafast broadband are all above the national average.
• Just over 7 in 10 residents surveyed said they were satisfied with South Tyneside as a place to live.
• Close to 9 in 10 residents say they feel safe in their local area during the day, but less than half said they felt safe after dark.
• 6.3m visitors to South Tyneside a year.
• 399 metres is the average distance to the nearest park, playing field or public garden in South Tyneside, less than half that of national figure of 983.1 metres.

Financial Wellbeing

• 28.5% of South Tyneside's working age population was economically inactive January and December 2023, the highest rate in the North East (24.2%) and above the national average (21%).
• Median gross weekly pay in South Tyneside was £600 in 2023, below North East (£608.1), England-wide (£692) and UK-wide levels (£690).
• 31.8% of school children are eligible for Free Schools Meals compared to 30.4% regionally and 24.8% nationally.
• 5.3% of the working age population were claiming out of work benefits as of March 2024, compared to 4% regionally and 3.9% nationally.
• 10.9% of people aged 18-21 were claiming unemployment benefits in March 2024, compared to 6.3% regionally and 5.4% nationally.

We have analysed the latest key data to provide the headlines of the areas where we are seeing strong performance and also where our services and communities are experiencing challenges. Further detailed analysis, as well as information on any improvement actions or next steps, is included throughout the report.

*Most of the data is this report is based on financial years April to March and financial quarters. For ‘snap shot’ data, such as the number and rate of Children Cared For, which represent a single point in time, data is provided as at the end of the Quarter. For cumulative measures that rise as the year progresses, such as new referrals to social services, rates are calculated to show the rate from the 1st April to the end of the reporting Quarter to allow direct comparison with previous full year annual rates between 1st April to 31st March.

Performance Update

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

Our Performance

As we navigate an extremely challenging local and national economic context, many South Tyneside residents continue to be at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis. While we have all been impacted by inflationary rises in some way, increases in fuel and food costs hit low-income households the hardest. Although inflation is falling, prices remain high and continue to rise.

The rate of residents claiming unemployment benefits has been under 6% since May 2022. In the quarter ending December 2023, the rate fell to its lowest level since October and November 2018. However, these falls do not appear to be mirrored in increases in the borough’s employment rate. Quarterly data from the Annual Population Survey indicates the employment rate has been below 65% for the last four periods, while the borough’s economic inactivity rate (driven by long-term sickness) remains high (28.9% in the 12 months to September 2023). This suggests that the fall in the unemployment claimant rate may be due to people becoming economically inactive, rather than successfully moving into employment.

• The unemployment claimant rate for South Tyneside for those aged 16-64 was 5.3% at the end of March 2024. This is a slight increase on the Quarter 3 position reported at the end of December 2023 (5.2%). There were 4815 claimants as compared to 4655 claimants at the end of Quarter 3. Despite this recent increase the rate of claimants is 0.5% points lower than March 2023 and 1.2% points lower than March 2022. The rate of claimants remains higher than both that of the North East (4%) and England (3.9%). The claimant rate is higher than any other authority in the ‘LA7’ area with Gateshead (4.4%) and Newcastle (4.3%) in second and third respectively. Across the 12 authorities in the North East only Middlesbrough (6.1%) reported a higher rate of claimants.

  The wards with the highest rates of unemployment benefit claimants are Beacon and Bents (9.3%), Simonside and Rekendyke (8.3%) and Biddick and All Saints (8%). The same three wards had the highest rates at Quarter 3. The ward with the lowest rate of claimants remains Cleadon and East Boldon at 1.3%.

• More than 1 in 10 of 18-21 year olds were claiming benefits in March 2024 (10.9%).The figure is up 0.6 % points as compared to December 2023. This position is also above March 2022/23 (10.8%) and higher than the March 2024 positions for the North East (6.3%) and England (5.4%).

• The number of Universal Credit claimants stood at 19606 in March 2024. This is a 3.4% increase on Quarter 3 2023/24 (19,243 claimants). Of these claimants, 34.5% were in employment, which is an unchanged position from Quarter 3 and remains below the positions in the North East and England, 35.4% and 38% respectively.

• At the end of Quarter 2 (the most recently available data) 16.4% of South Tyneside residents over 65 were in receipt of pension credits. This is in line with March 2023 but there has been a steady decrease in the measure in recent years from 19.3% in 2019/20 and 22.1% in 2017/18. Our latest figure is above those of the North East (14.1%) and England (10.7%) for the same period.

Note: The migration of people who are currently claiming Tax Credits claimants to Universal Credit may cause this number to rise. It will not be possible to differentiate how much of this rise is due to tax credit migration and how much is due to other reasons (e.g., rising unemployment). It may also be the case that some people in receipt of Tax Credits do not decide to apply for Universal Credit.

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area:

• The South Tyneside Pledge was identified as a finalist in the ‘Public / Private Partnership’ category of the Local Government Chronicle Awards 2024, in recognition of the initiative’s success in bringing together over 280+ local partners to recruit from, spend in and support local communities. The scheme is a fantastic example of organisations working together to help local residents access jobs and to help keep money within the local economy.
• Over £7.5 million has been secured for local residents over the last year by South Tyneside’s Welfare Support Team, which offers a free, confidential welfare benefits and debt advice services to ensure people are receiving the help they are entitled to, and also helps people recover benefits at appeal which have been stopped by the Department of Work and Pensions.
• School meal prices have been frozen for a fourth year as part of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan, which was formally agreed in February. The Council heavily subsidies school meals and provides the cheapest provision in the region, recognising that affordable school meals are critical, especially for low-income families.
• A new community shop promoting food security by offering healthy food at discount prices has been opened in South Shields by Hospitality and Hope, supported with funding from South Tyneside’s £8.8m UK Shared Prosperity Funding share. The South Shields site is the third community shop that has been delivered over recent years, joining the similar stores at Horsley Hill and Tyne Dock, as well as the Community Food Bus, run by Key Project and supported by the Council, which brings affordable food to people across the borough.
• A new collaborative Sustainable Food Group has been established to focus on supporting local people to access and prepare nutritious food at a low cost.
• The network of almost 70 Welcoming Places in churches, Council buildings and charities across South Tyneside that offer local people free activities and a space to meet others and get a range of advice and information, is continuing to develop, with new venues, such as South Shields Cricket Club, joining the network, and with training and skill building opportunities now also available from key sites.
• Children and young people eligible for free school meals have once again been able to access nutritious meals and a range of fun activities from skateboarding to surfing and over the Easter school break as part of the South Tyneside’s Easter holiday club offer which helps to reduce the financial strain on families when schools are closed.

Additional Information

See the Financially Secure Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26 as well as the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Anti-Poverty Strategy for more information about plans in this area.

Best Start in Life

Performance Update

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

Children’s Social Care have seen consistent increases in demand for services in recent years. South Tyneside has higher rates of referrals in Children’s Social Care, Children in Need and Child Protection plans than England and similar Statistical Neighbour areas. The rate of Cared for Children is lower than the region and similar areas while still well above the national average. Since both March 2023 and the end of Quarter 3 there has been a small increase in our overall number of Children in Need, with those on a Child Protection Plan showing the greatest rises. More positively the level of referrals, Children Cared For and repeat Child Protection Plans have reduced over the same period.

The Domestic Abuse Incident rate has risen slightly and continues to be highest in the Northumbria Police force area. Domestic abuse in families with children is a key contributing factor in children needing support from children’s services. The already high level of children receiving support with complex special needs has also continued to rise in line with the ongoing trend over recent years.

• Referrals in Children’s Services

  2056 new referrals were started in Children’s Social Care between April 1st 2023 and March 31st 2024. The rate of referrals (692.3 per 10,000 0-17 year olds) has fallen by 3% as compared to December 2023 (713.4) and has dropped noticeably from a recent high in Quarter 1 2023 (862). South Tyneside’s rate of referrals remains higher than the most recent positions for the North East (579.9), Statistical Neighbours 2022/23 (649.5) and England (544.5).

  * Our statistical neighbours / similar areas are: North East: Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland Sunderland and North West: Halton, Liverpool, Salford, St. Helens, Tameside. The statistical neighbour rate is the average across these similar areas.

• Children in Need

  There were 1507 Children in Need* in South Tyneside at the end of March 2024. The rate of Children in Need (507.4 per 10,000) has increased by 2% as compared to Quarter 3 (495), is up 5% on 2022/23 and is above our statistical neighbours (465.7), the North East (444.7) and England (342.7).

  * Our Children in Need number covers all children with an open referral with Children and Families Social Care including children in assessment, triage, those with Child In Need Plans, Child Protection Plans, our Children Cared For and our Care Leavers.

• Child Protection Plans

  232 children had a Child Protection Plan at the end of March 2024. The rate (78.4) is up by 13% on Quarter 3 (69.4, 206 children) and up by 24% on 2022/23 (64.7, 187 children). South Tyneside are above the national rate and our statistical neighbours (43.2 and 63.1 respectively) but are below the latest regional position of 72.6 at Quarter 3 2023/24.

• 313 children became subject to a Child Protection Plan between April and March 2024 (105.4 per 10,000). The rate of Child Protection Plan starts has increased by 12% compared to 2022/23 (94, 279 children) and 4.4% on Quarter 3 (101). South Tyneside’s position is well above our statistical neighbours (87.0), the North East (86.6) and England (54).

• % Repeat Change Protection Plans

  26.2% of Child Protection Plans were a repeat plan, an unchanged position from last quarter. Between April 2023 and March 2024, 82 children were subject to a plan for at least the second time. The proportion of repeat plans is 19% lower than in 2022/23 (down 6.1% points from 32.3%). South Tyneside are above the North East (25.0%), statistical neighbours (21.4%) and England (23.3%).

  11.8% of Children Protection Plans were within 2 years of the child’s last protection plan in 2023/24. Whilst an increase on Quarter 3 (9.8%), this is a reduction of 23% on 2022/23 (-3.6% points from 15.4%). Our position is above the latest North East position of 10.8%.

• Children Cared For

  As at March 2024 there were 308 Children Cared For. The rate, 103.7’ per 10,000 children, is down 1% on both March 2023 (104.7) and Quarter 3 (105.4) and continues to be noticeably lower than our statistical neighbours (128.1) and the North East (117.8) but is still far higher than England (71).

  Of the 309 children 12 were Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children (UASC). This is a decrease of a third as compared to both Quarter 3 and year end 2022/23 when the figure stood at 18. The relatively higher numbers of UASC in recent years is a result of the Council’s participation in the National Transfer Scheme, and our latest position is 140% higher than 2021/22 (5 UASC) which demonstrates the effect of the National Transfer Scheme.

• Children Becoming Cared For

  138 Children became Cared For between April 2023 and March 2024. The rate (46.5 per 10,000) increased slightly on Quarter 3 (45.3) and was 4% higher than 2022/23 (44.8). South Tyneside’s rate is close to our statistical neighbours (46) but above the North East (42) and England (26).

• Adoptions

  During 2023/24, 15% of children who ceased to be Cared For did so as a result of being adopted (20 out of 133 children). This proportion is lower than the previous two years (15.7% and 16.7%) but South Tyneside remain above the most recently reported national (12%) and regional (13.6%) positions.

• Domestic Abuse Incidents

  5083 incidents of domestic abuse were reported between April 2023 and March 2024. The 2023/24 rate of 336.3 per 10,000 population was a marginal rise on Quarter 3 (335.2) and a more pronounced increase of 1.8% on 2022/23 (330.3, 4992 incidents). The rate of domestic abuse across South Tyneside continues to be the highest in the Northumbria Police Force Area. The rate across the force area was 286.6 for 2023/24. Rates of domestic abuse have increased in recent years both across England and the Northumbria Police Force Area specifically.

  * Rates have been calculated by the Council’s performance team, based on the Police numbers provided. It should be noted that the rising reporting of domestic abuse incidents could be seen as positive as domestic abuse is often not reported but the higher rate compared to other areas is a concern.

• EHCP Plans

  At the end of March 2024, 1739 children and young people had an Education, Health and Care Plan to support their more complex special needs. This figure includes young people above school age, up to 25 years old. The figure is up 2.4% as compared to December 2023 (1698) and up 1.9% when compared to 2022/23. Our numbers of EHCPs have risen sharply in recent years and are 11.5% higher than 2019/20 when 1559 children were supported by an EHCP.

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area:

Major Projects and Programmes Underway

Other things we are doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area includes:

• Families across South Tyneside are benefitting from a range of early learning programmes to help their little ones be better prepared for school. Family Hubs across the borough have been using the ‘Early Words Together’ and ‘First Words’ programmes, which provide free books and advice, to build parents’ confidence in developing their child’s language and communication skills through activities such as sharing books and stories and singing songs and rhymes.
• South Tyneside Council has become the first local authority in the country to sign The Young Carer’s Covenant, promising to take practical and meaningful action to ensure local young carers have the same life opportunities as their peers. By signing the covenant, the Council is committed to work with young carers to develop an action plan which helps them progress into adulthood as smoothly as possible, including by providing career support and mentorship.
• Almost 7000 families are now accessing and benefiting from the broad range of services offered at ‘one-stopshop’ Family Hubs across South Tyneside which launched last year and offer co-located services including parenting support, early language and home learning advice, infant feeding support and more.
• The latest Department for Education review of the Council’s Children’s Services improvement journey observed ‘clear progress’, noting the ‘overwhelming positive’ feedback from front line social workers and managers and ‘their commitment and loyalty to South Tyneside and determination to see services improve’, and highlighting improvements in the timeliness of assessments for children needing care. A key focus of the ongoing improvement journey, alongside efforts to increase the number of places available locally for looked-after children, has been on improving recording of decision-making in children’s files, with regular audit work now carried out and moderated by a partner local authority.
• Young people and school staff from ten different schools and multiple youth groups who have gone the extra mile in stamping out bullying and promoting inclusion were celebrated at an awards celebration in February co-organised by the Young People’s Parliament and the Council’s Participation Team.

Additional Information

See the ‘Healthy and Well’ Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26, for more information about plans and activities to support this Ambition.

Healthy and Well - Age Well

Performance Update

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

Demands on Adult Social Care have risen in recent years with more people overall requiring support from the service and more people requiring long term residential care. This is a national trend linked to an ageing population but demand for support is generally higher in South Tyneside.

Our Living Better Lives Strategy, produced together with local partners, people working in social care, and local people who draw on care and support aims to ensure people are able to live as independently as is possible in their own home for as long as possible. It is positive that there has been a reduction in older people admitted to long-term residential care over the last 12 months and our admission rate is now below the regional average.

The number of people living in residential care has also reduced. The Care Quality Commission ratings of the providers used by the Council remain overwhelmingly ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.

• Admissions of people aged 65+ to residential care

  230 people aged over 65 were admitted to residential or nursing care between April 2023 and March 2024 at a rate of 741.3 per 100,000. The admissions rate is 5.6% down on Quarter 3 (785.5) and marks a major reduction from Quarter 1 (893.4). There were 48 fewer admissions than 2022/23 (278 admissions, 899.9 per 100,000). South Tyneside’s rate of admissions for adults aged 65+ has, positively, reduced to below the North East rate (762.8 per 100,000) but remains above the national position of 560.8 per 100,000.

  People being discharged from hospital into residential or nursing care is one of the key contributors for these admissions. The Council, NHS South Tyneside and the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Hospital Trust have commissioned a review of the discharge process with partner Newton Europe to look at ways of working across the partnership that focus on as many people as possible returning to their usual place of residence before their admission to hospital.

  Adult social work teams based in the hospital are supporting this reduction in admissions to care for people being discharged as they are able to support decision making leading to more people being returned home rather than into care. The aim is that the continued development of Borrowdale House and Haven Court for reablement will further aid this improvement.

  For those people who are unable to return we will look to use our reablement provision or extra care support to prevent or delay their admission into long term residential care and ensure they can live independently in their community for as long as possible.

• Number of people with Commissioned Services

  2833 people were receiving a Commissioned Service in Adults Social Care part or fully funded by the council at year end 2023/24 (March 2024). This position is up 1.3% on Quarter 3 (2796 people) and 4.3% higher than in March 2023 (2715).

  Commissioned services can include care and support which have been arranged on behalf of a person by Adult Social Care. A financial assessment will take place to determine the level of financial contribution that is necessary towards the funding of the service. This reflects the increasing demand for Adult Social Care Support.

• Admissions to residential care for people aged 18-64

  14 individuals aged 18-64 were admitted to residential or nursing care to meet their long-term support needs between April 2023 and March 2024. The rate of admissions, 16 per 100,000 population, is down 11% on Quarter 3 (21.4) and down 13% on the 2023/24 (18.3). Our 18-64 admissions rate is above the most recent regional (15.6) and national (14.6) rates.

• People in long-term residential placements

  At the end of March 2024, there were 789 people in long-term residential placements funded by Adult Social Care. This is a 2.5% decrease on the end of Quarter 3 (809) and a decrease of 2.2% on year end 2022/23 (807). Despite the decreases in the past year the number is higher than in previous years. Our most recent figure is up 5% on 2021/22 (748) and 21.9% higher than 2020/21 (648). This measure provides the number of people that were actually living in residential care on the 31st of March, whereas the admission figures show people who moved into long-term residential care from the start of April 2023 to the end of March 2024.

• People in short-term residential placements

  115 people were in short-term residential placements funded by Adult Social Care at the end of March 2024. This is 10.6% higher than the Quarter 3 position (104) and 3% up from March 2023 (111).

• Provider Ratings

  96.5% of the providers used by the Council for residential, domiciliary care, extra care, specialist care, complex care and supported living, are currently rated as ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission, very marginally up from 96.4% at the end of Quarter 3. One residential care provider is rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ and one is rated as ‘Inadequate’. Of the 60 total providers, 4 are yet to be inspected at this time.

• Satisfaction Ratings

  62.2% of people who use our Adult Social Care services were at least ‘very satisfied’ overall with their care and support in 2022/23. This is below the level in the North East (66.4%) and England (64.4%) in 2022/23 and Iower than the position in South Tyneside 2021/22 (67.3%), which had been in the top 25% of Council areas. 88.3% are at least ‘quite satisfied’, this is down a little on 2021/22 (89.7%) but remains above the latest 2022/23 National average (88.1%). * Data from 2022/23 published in December 2023.

* The indicators above and the performance for 2023/24 are under review against the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework and are potentially subject to change pending the finalisation of returns and additional data quality checks.

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area:

Major Projects and Programmes Underway

Other things we are doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area include:

• The Shared Lives scheme, a service which sees carers providing support in their own home to help local people with a learning disability to live independently, has been rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission. Inspectors found that people using the services were well supported to live the lives they wanted, with service users well matched to their carers, ‘high quality, person-centred care’ and ‘a strong shared ethos that puts people first’.
• A review of hospital discharge processes has been jointly commissioned by the Council, NHS South Tyneside and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Hospital trust, looking at ways of working across the partnership that focus on ensuring as many people as possible can return to their usual place of residence after a hospital admission. Social work teams based in the hospital are already supporting a reduction in admissions to care for people being discharged as they are able to support decision making.
• The new award-winning See and Solve service, which operates out of the Living Better Lives Resource Centre, is helping people more quickly get the equipment and home adaptions they need to live independently, with waiting times for occupation therapist assessments down significantly compared to previous years as a result of the innovative scheme.

Additional Information

For more information on the wider activities planned around supporting independence and wellbeing through adult social care and commissioning, please see the Living Better Lives 5-Year Adult Social Care and Commissioning Vision and Strategy and the ‘Healthy and Well’ Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26.

Live Well - Health and Leisure

Performance Update

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

South Tyneside’s performance on key public health measures has been lower than the England wide average for a number of years. Smoking, including mothers smoking at the time of delivery, is higher than the nationally and regionally reported figures. Adult and childhood obesity is more prevalent across South Tyneside than across the North East and England. An increasing number of adults in treatments for alcohol, and other substances has been a steady trend in recent years. Positively, however, we have seen a steep increase in the numbers of members for our leisure centres, with a larger proportion of these being concessionary members, which has continued over the last 12 months.

The majority of health data within our performance framework is based on annually updated figures provided by other public bodies. A more comprehensive set of measures will be available within our annual report (including physical activity, obesity, smoking prevalence, alcohol-related hospital admissions, emergency hospital admissions for self-harm and health life expectancy) and more detailed information, on topics ranging from frailty and dementia to births and fertility, can be found in the online South Tyneside Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment.

• Mothers smoking at time of delivery

  The latest quarterly snapshot available based on September 2023 for mothers smoking at time of delivery was 12.6%, above the latest positions for the North East (10.5%) and England (8%). The position for Quarter 2 (September) was 1.5% points above Quarter 1’s position (June, 11.1%).

• Leisure centre usage

  There were 10475 members of leisure centres across South Tyneside at the end of March 2024. This is the highest number on record and an increase of 14.9% from 9118 at the end of Quarter 3. The latest position is 26.1% higher than the same point last year. Leisure memberships have grown significantly on previous years with numbers much lower in 2021/22 (7029) and 2020/21 (5589). 4341 (42% of members) are concessions, up by 23.5%, 8% points as compared to 2022/23 (2810, 34%).

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area:

• A new multi-agency Domestic Abuse Hub has now been established in the Biddick Hall and Whiteleas area, with the Council’s Restart Team working closely with the police to support local people experiencing all forms of domestic abuse.
• Chichester, Bede, Tyne Dock and Simonside metro stations are benefiting from ‘Healthier Metros’ upgrades aimed at improving walking and cycling links and encouraging active travel. This spring saw bike racks, new concrete planters and improved lighting have been installed at Chichester, while new pedestrian and cycle routes have been put in place at areas surrounding Bede, Tyne Dock and Simonside stations.
• A series of events and activities took place at Horsley Hill Family Hub in February to mark ‘Children’s Mental Health Week’. Young people, parents and carers were encouraged to drop in to find out more about the services available to support mental health, with yoga, holistic arts therapy and crafts on offer for those interested.

Homelessness

Performance Update

Homelessness in South Tyneside continues to be a pressing concern. Families and individuals presenting to the council as being at risk of homelessness has increased in recent years. There has been a reduction in rough sleepers in March 2024 compared to march 2023 but a rise in the number who are new to the street.’. These issues are by no means limited to South Tyneside and the same concerns are observed across the North East and England. From a strategic housing perspective South Tyneside has outperformed neighbouring local authorities in terms of ensuring properties are not left vacant and there are numerous strategic initiatives being adopted relating to homelessness and housing throughout the borough.

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

• Risk of Homelessness

  3092 people presented as at risk of homelessness through 2023/24. Presentations for 2023/24 are comparable to last financial year (3096). The figure has increased in recent years and our current position is a rise of 26.7% on 2021/22 (2439) and an increase of 36.5% on 2019/20 (2265).

  The main reasons for losing accommodation were loss of private tenancy, families or friends no longer able to accommodate, relationship breakdown and domestic abuse. Homelessness presentations are people contacting the Council concerned or at risk of becoming homeless, such as people at risk of losing their private tenancy or people who do not currently have a permanent place of residence. Most people contacting the council receive advice or guidance rather than accommodation.

• Rough Sleeping

  12 people were sleeping rough at some point in March 2024. This is down by 14.3% compared to the position for December 2023 and March 2023 (both 14 rough sleepers). 58% of rough sleepers were new to the street (7), up from 36% in March 2023 (5).

  People sleeping rough are defined as those sleeping or about to bed down in open air locations and other places including tents and makeshift shelters. The snapshot does not include people in hostels or shelters, sofa surfers or those in recreational or organised protest, squatter, or traveller campsites.

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area:

• A new Operations manager for Homelessness and Allocations is now in post and working to address some of the recommendations identified in the recent self-assessment of homelessness services and the wider system.
• A review of exempt accommodation (supported accommodation that is exempt from certain housing benefit provisions, either resettlement accommodation or accommodation provided alongside care or support) has also been worked through and a dedicated officer has been recruited to work on addressing challenges with this type of housing.
• Work has started on the development of a new Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy has also begun, with consultation with partners planned for the coming year.
• Additional funding has been secured to expand the Council’s rough sleeping outreach offer and has supported the purchase of an additional temporary single-person move-on accommodation unit. This is in in addition to the existing 7 accommodation units that were purchased in the last year and currently being used to support vulnerable rough sleepers. The revenue grant for these existing units has now also been extended until March 2025.
• Following the Supported Housing Act coming into force, the Council is awaiting the outcome of national consultations which will support the shaping of a new Supported Housing Strategy.
• Ahead of the development of a comprehensive Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy next year, a Rough Sleeper Statement has been published setting out detail of work planned over the next 12 months by the Council and partners to address and prevent homelessness.

Additional Information

For more information on the wider activities planned around promoting health and wellbeing, please see the ‘Healthy and Well’ Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26. South Tyneside’s Health and Wellbeing Board also oversees the delivery of the detailed Health and Wellbeing Strategy which includes comprehensive plans around themes including ‘Best Start in Life’, ‘Good Mental Health and Social Networks Through Life’, ‘Financial Security to Lead Healthy Fulfilling Lives’ and ‘Safe and Healthy Places to Live, Learn and Work’. At each Health and Wellbeing Board meeting there is a detailed exploration of one outcome.

Health and Wellbeing Board papers are published online. The South Tyneside Joint Strategic Needs and Asset Assessment contains a wealth of intelligence about a range of topics and more information on health and wellbeing services is available.

Performance Update

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past.
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past.
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past.
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

South Tyneside has historically struggled with the employment measures related to our Connected to Jobs ambition compared to rest of England. The factors behind this are well known, deep rooted and unfortunately common across the North East where lower levels of employment has been a longstanding issue linked to pervasive deprivation and skills and health challenges. Levels of unemployment have been higher than those reported in England and much of the region for a number of years. However, it is positive that the employment rate has improved since September and the unemployment rate has fallen to a 19 year low.

As a post-industrial coastal area, South Tyneside continues to navigate a legacy of intergenerational deprivation, as well as acute health and skills challenges. Nationally, the economy is tough, with inflationary pressures, high interest rates, and weak growth. While the entire country is experiencing these challenges, South Tyneside has not yet ‘bounced back’ post-pandemic to the same degree as some other places and high economic inactivity, largely driven by long-term sickness, remains a key challenge.

To address this, a number of UK Shared Prosperity Fund projects aimed at supporting people to move closer to the labour market and reduce inactivity are now live and impact will be monitored throughout. The projects range from intensive support programmes to the provision of pre-employment support and work to address barriers to engagement.

In spite of these challenges there have been positive recent developments with council skills programmes which will be boosted yet further by the North East Devolution Deal. The vast majority of children in the borough attend schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted and these ratings have improved since December. There has been a slight rise in the level of young people aged 16/17 not in education, employment or training in the last quarter. However high levels of our 19-21 year Care Leavers Care Leavers continue to access in education, employment or training opportunities when compared to other areas.

• Employment

  South Tyneside’s latest available employment rate was 65% in the 12 months to December 2023 (16-64 year olds). This is a 2.6% point increase on the previous position at September 2023 (62.4%). Our employment rates continue to be below the North East (72.8%) and England (76%). Employment rates rose both regionally and nationally from September 2023 (from 71.6% and 75.9% respectively).

  Note: This rate is based on an Office of National Statistics (ONS) survey of the population with a small local sample size for South Tyneside. The data has been queried with ONS who confirm that they are not aware of any quality issues, but also that the data is subject to confidence issues based on small sample sizes. The margin of error for South Tyneside is +/- 4.3% as compared with +/- 1.3% in the North East and +/- 0.4% in England. The change in South Tyneside’s employment, unemployment and economic inactivity rates is not statistically significantly different to the preceding four quarters but is highlighted as an ongoing trend. There have not been any large-scale redundancies or major movements in the labour market locally.

• Unemployment

  Our unemployment rate was 5.6% for the 12 months up to December 2023, the lowest rate reported in at least 19 years. Our rate has fallen 1.1% points from September 2023. Despite the decrease South Tyneside is still has a higher unemployment rate than the North East (3.9%) and England (3.7%). In the same period the unemployment rate also fell regionally (-0.3% points) and nationally (-0.1% points).

• Economic Inactivity

  28.5% of South Tyneside’s 16-64 population were economically inactive in the 12 months to December 2023 (25,800 people). This is a decrease of 0.4% points from September 2023 (28.9%). South Tyneside’s rate is above the North East (24.2%) and England (21%). Long term sickness was the most common cause of economic inactivity within the borough (38.7% of cases).

• Young People NEET

  Our numbers of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) have risen in the past quarter. At the end of Quarter 4, 6.4% of 16-17 year olds were NEET, a rise of 10.3% when compared to Quarter 3 (up 0.6% points from 5.8%). South Tyneside is below our statistical neighbours (6.5%) but higher than both the North East (5.9%) and England (5.1%).

• Care Leavers EET

  73.4% of South Tyneside’s 19-21 year old care leavers were in education, employment or training (EET) at the end of Quarter 4. This position is up from 72.5% in December and a 21% increase on year end 2022/23 (up 12.8 % points from 60.6%). South Tyneside’s position is above the latest for the North East (54.8% at December 2023) and England (56% at March 2023).

• Primary Schools

  93.4% of pupils were attending South Tyneside primary schools rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ at the end of the December. This is down 95.3% at the end of the summer term in July. This is higher than in England (92.3%) but below the North East (94.6%).

• Secondary Schools

  90.8% of our secondary school pupils were attending a school rated by Ofsted as ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ at the end of Quarter 4. Our ratings position has risen 24% on Quarter 3 when 73.2% of secondary school pupils were attending a school rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’. Our ratings position for secondary schools is now above the North East (78.7%) and England (82.2%).

• Special Schools

  100% of South Tyneside’s four Special schools are rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ unchanged since July. South Tyneside compares positively to the region (87%) and the national position (89%).

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area:

Major Projects and Programmes Underway

Other things we are doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area include:

• £3.7 million funding has been secured to run a series of free, flexible skills bootcamps in South Tyneside which have been co-designed with employers to give local people the opportunity build up sector-specific skills in areas with identified skills-shortages, including HGV driving and electric vehicle manufacturing.
• South Tyneside Works, the Council’s Further Education and Skills Service, which supports over 3000 adult learners a year, has retained it’s ‘Good’ Ofsted rating, with inspectors noting that learners ‘value and enjoy learning new life skills’ throughout their training.
• A new Climate Change Business Toolkit has been developed to help local businesses reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint, with information on monitoring bills, calculating carbon footprints, energy efficiency, minimising consumption and generating energy. The toolkit kit was showcased to organisations signed up to the South Tyneside Pledge at a recent Pledge network event.
• ‘The Mentoring Project’, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at shaping brighter futures for young people in South Tyneside, is helping young people involved with the Youth Justice Service to gain skills and raise their employment aspirations. The initial pilot, led by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, matched a group of young people with six local employers, providing young people with their first exposure to work and practical insights into different career paths. The pilot has proven to be a win-win for both mentees and mentors, with business people involved describing their experience as ‘special’ and ‘one of the best experiences of my life’.
• The Council celebrated ‘National Apprenticeship Week’ in February with a series of drop-in events helping people to learn more about local apprenticeship opportunities.
• Local employers have been supported with advice and information on inclusion and empowerment of employees who are neurodiverse or who have health needs, including through a ‘Recruit Well, Retain and Empower’ South Tyneside Pledge event in March.
• A £324,000 ‘Career Warm Up’ programme funded by a share of the Council’s £8.8 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is helping unemployed residents to move closer to their chosen careers, with support, including community-based pre-employment support, particularly targeted towards residents from disadvantaged wards who are furthest from the labour market.
• The innovative ‘South Tyneside and Beyond’ scheme, which last year challenged 3000 young people across South Tyneside to develop their science, technology, engineering and mathematics interests through finding creative ways to harness renewable energy, has been awarded first place in the ‘STEM Initiative’ category of the national Collaborate to Innovate Awards 2024.
• A new Jarrow Town Board has been set up to decide how to spend £2 million per year in funding which has been secured for the area over the coming 10 years through the government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns programme.
• A pilot employment support scheme targeting advice and guidance at jobseekers in their 50s and over is being expanded after 50% of the latest cohort of jobseekers involved in the scheme were successful in finding work.
• Twelve local projects that were successful in securing funding from South Tyneside’s £8.8m share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund are live and already making a real difference to local people. Initiatives range from a start-up support programme run by TEDCO Business Support to Compact for Race Equality’s Upskill to Zenith People’s STAR Programme which targets intensive vocational support at economically inactive young people to the Upskill to Success project which is providing education, training and employability activities to black and ethnic minority communities across South Tyneside.

Additional Information

For more information on the activities planned to progress this Ambition, you can access the ‘Connected to Jobs’ Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26.

In addition, there are a suite of plans and strategies associated with this ambition area accessible online on the Council’s website, including the South Tyneside Economic Recovery Plan.

The South Tyneside Works website provides more information about local support available to residents looking to get into work, change career path or boost skills and Invest South Tyneside provides more information on inward investment activity and major job creation schemes.

Performance Update

Key:

• Area of strong performance Performing better than other areas or in the recent past.
• Some concern Performing worse than other areas or in the recent past.
• Concern Performing significantly worse than other areas or in the recent past.
• Neutral Performance neither positive nor negative

Increases in crime have continued into Quarter 4 and South Tyneside’s rate of crime is still above the average of the Northumbria Police Force Area. Anti-social behaviour, and youth related incidents of anti-social behaviour in particular, have seen decreases this year as compared to 2022/23.

The number of new homes delivered has risen on last year but remains below the national delivery test figure, highlighting the challenges faced in this area. South Tyneside Homes performed well on repairs and compliance throughout 2023/24.

Waste and recycling data is comparatively delayed compared to other sources of data used in this report. Consequently, our figures do not reflect recent industrial action, the majority of which occurred during Quarter 4. We expect to see this have an impact on our year end waste figures once available.

• 15759 crimes were reported in South Tyneside across the 2023/24 reporting period. This is an increase of 6% compared to last year (14885 crimes). The rate of crime (104 per 1,000 people) for 2023/24 has increased from a rate of 98 per 1000 in 2022/23 but is down 1% from the end of December (105). Across the Northumbria Police Force Area, the rate of crime increased 1% in the same time period. Violence against the person without injury was the most common crime with 4259 offences (28 per 1000 population) during 2023/24, an increase of 1% on last year. Incidences of violence against the person with injury (+8%), vehicle crime (+16%), theft and handling (+21%) and burglary (+17%) all increased during 2023/24 as compared to the previous year.

• Anti-Social Behaviour incidents have decreased by 3% on the previous year. There were 4544 ASB incidents between April 2023 and March 2024 as compared to 4698 in 2022/23. 76% of incidents related to adults. There was also a more pronounced decrease in the number of youth related ASB incidents, down 14% to 1094 in 2023/24 from 1267 in 2022/23.

• 47474.8 tonnes of household waste was produced and collected within South Tyneside between April and December 2023/24 (latest figure available). This is a reduction of 2% on the comparable position for 2022/23 of 48322.8 tonnes.

• 424.9kg of residual waste was produced per household between April and December 2023, representing a 6% reduction on April to December 2022 when 450.3kg of residual waste was produced per household. The Quarter 3 total of 127.8kg per household was markedly lower than both Quarter 1 (148.7 kg) and Quarter 2 (148.8 kg). The projected annual total of 567kg per household is below the most recently published North East position (596.3kg per household) but above the latest national average (508.8kg per household). South Tyneside’s rate was previously one of the highest for urban areas nationally, at 703.8kg per household in 2019/20.

  Note: over 95% of this waste is not landfilled but is sent to produce energy at a specialist ‘waste to energy’ power station. Whilst these reductions are very positive, there is still a long way to go to comply with the Government’s Environment Plan which sets out mandatory targets for the local authorities to reduce residual waste by 24% per person by 2028 and reduce overall waste tonnage by 25%.

• 34.6% of household waste was recycled, reused or composted across South Tyneside between April and December 2023.

  This is higher than the same period in 2022/23 (32%). The Quarter 3 figure (29.6%) is below that of Quarter 1 (36.9%) and Quarter 2 (37.2%) but the overall position is still higher than the year end figure for 2022/23 (31%) and above the average for the North East (31.2%). South Tyneside remain lower than the national average of 41.7%. This measure does not include South Tyneside remaining residual waste re-used to create energy.

• 19.3% of recycling waste collected in South Tyneside was contaminated with other waste. This is a decrease on the Quarter 2 position (20.8%) and roughly in line with the 2022/23 position (19.1%).

  * Waste data covers the period April to the end of December (the latest available position from the Waste Partnership).

• 4204 trees were planted during 2023/24. This is a small increase on 4181 in 2022/23 and remains well above our the target to plant 3000 trees per year.

• A net total of 27 new homes were provided in South Tyneside in Quarter 4.

  This takes the net figure for homes delivered to 200 homes for the 2023/24 reporting year. This figure is 14.3%, or 25 homes, higher than the figure for 2022/23 of 175 net homes provided. Whilst an improvement, on the previous year the figure is still below the 321 target required by the Housing Delivery Test. The New Local Plan provides an opportunity to allocate sufficient land to meet our housing needs in the future with our current target of 309 units per annum.

South Tyneside Homes

The performance data below relates to properties maintained by South Tyneside Homes:

• The timeliness of emergency repairs has improved on 2022/23 with 99.6% of emergency repairs completed within the targeted timescale between April 2023 and March 2024. This represents a 0.2% point improvement on the 2022/23 year.

• There has been a 2.4% decrease in the number of repairs carried out correctly first time as compared to 2022/23. 87.1% of repairs carried out were right first time as compared to 89.5% in 2022/23.

• 100% of required landlord inspections have been carried out for all relevant homes up to the end of Quarter 4 for gas service and safety inspections, fire risk assessments, asbestos management surveys, passenger lift safety and electrical checks. The 100% proportion is a positive continuation of last year’s position.

What are we doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area?

Major Projects Underway

Other things we are doing to strengthen outcomes and performance in this area include:

• South Tyneside Council has been named as a finalist for the 2024 Local Government Chronicle Awards ‘Net Zero’ award in recognition of the borough’s recent sustainability innovations including the Viking Energy Network Jarrow renewable energy scheme.
• The Council has also been selected as a finalist in the ‘Leadership in Responding to the Climate Emergency’ category of the MJ Awards 2024 which recognises innovation and leadership in the area of carbon emissions reductions and climate action.
• The new ‘COAST South Tyneside’ project, which involves a series of coastal wildlife educational events, talks, and community activities, is supporting residents and visitors to enjoy the Borough’s coastline which also helping to protect and raise awareness of coastal wildlife.
• A dolphin bin has been installed in Whitburn to encourage people visiting the area to dispose of their single use plastic bottles and recyclable materials.
• The Council has continued to engage constructively with trade unions in an attempt to bring about an end to industrial action that has disrupted waste collections for the last six months. As well as entering into ACAS conciliation, the Council invited in a Local Government Association and Association of Public Sector Excellence Peer Review team made up of external waste professionals, which supported the development of a comprehensive action plan that has been agreed by all parties, however disappointingly the workforce has continued with industrial action.
• A new dedicated policing team has been put in place for the borough, headed up by Area Commander for South Tyneside, Chief Superintendent Aelfwynn Sampson. Northumbria Police’s move to a local-authority based policing structure will help the force focus activity and resources on the issues that matter most of local South Tyneside residents.
• Local residents have been invited to share their views on proposals to extend existing Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), which give the Council and police additional powers and flexibility to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour, helping to deter and tackle problems including the use of motorbikes on public land and drinking alcohol and taking psychoactive substances in a public place.
• Much-loved green spaces in Boldon have been protected for future generations to enjoy through recreation and leisure by being legally protected through a ‘Deed of Dedication’ between the Council and charity Fields in Trust. Disco Fields and the land at Dipe Lane join four other open green spaces in South Tyneside to hold this status, including playing fields at Oakleigh Gardens in Cleadon, King George V playing fields on Galsworthy Road, King George V playing fields on Lindisfarne Road and Lukes Lane playing fields in Hebburn.
• A new ultra-energy-efficient council housing development of 10 homes at Hindmarsh Drive has been completed and will soon be welcoming its first tenants.
• 984 local people shared their opinions and suggestions about their town as part of the ‘Our Hebburn Conversation’ eight-week consultation which took place between November and January. The consultation outlined the strengths and challenges facing the town centre, the riverside and wider surrounding areas, and offered potential options for regeneration and improvement, including pop up stalls, covered walkways, art or sculpture trails, better lighting and CCTV, play areas, coffee kiosks, family activities and wildlife features. A masterplan will be brought forward later this year to look at the key themes that emerged from the exercise, including the importance of a variety of shops and restaurants, availability of activities and amenities for young people and families, and safety and security.
• 94.2% of the 18,000 council tenants who were invited to have their say lent their support to proposals to bring the delivery of housing services back in-house following an independent review of council housing and a ‘mindedto’ decision from Cabinet which found that the proposed change would create opportunities for more joined-up and streamlined services and would contribute to the ambition of building strong communities.
• £60,000 was secured from the Environment Agency to undertake a review of flooding in the Tyne Dock area, which was affected by extreme rainfall on Great North Run day 2022 leading to transport disruption. The review will identify options to help mitigate future flooding risks.
• Planning is underway for the 2024 summer programme of events which will see a return of the borough’s iconic free open-air Sunday Concerts together with a wider three-month festival programme of live music, entertainment and family friendly events across the borough.
• A new Tenancy Policy setting expectations for all registered housing providers to let their homes to tenants in a fair, transparent and efficient way has been developed by South Tyneside Homes, who shaped the policy with consideration for feedback provided by residents and officers, including on issues such as how to report concerns around damp and mould.
• Improvement works have taken place at South Tyneside Crematorium, with 22 extra car parking spaces added to the existing 57 space parking site to make it easier for bereaved families and friends to pay tribute to their loved ones without unnecessary stress, while also helping to alleviate pressures in nearby residential areas.
• A £312,899 Place Partnership grant from Arts Council England has been secured by the South Tyneside Cultural Partnership to develop a programme of activity that supports local creatives to deliver ambitious projects, festivals, residencies, skills and development workshops over the next three years, creating opportunities for local creative enterprises and boosting access to arts and culture for South Tyneside residents.
• A former town Mayor, a trailblazing female archaeologist and a war hero are among local figures who have been honoured with a commemorative Blue Plaque this year. The Blue Plaque scheme recognises individuals and structures for their importance to local history and heritage, with up to three plaques agreed and installed annually, one funded by the Council and the other two privately funded.

Additional Information

For more information on the activities planned to progress this Ambition, access the ‘Part of Strong Communities’ Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26.

In addition, there are a suite of plans and strategies associated with this ambition area that are accessible online on the Council’s website, including the Sustainable South Tyneside Strategy, the Making Waves South Tyneside Cultural Strategy, the South Tyneside Local Plan, the Integrated Housing Strategy, and the Community Safety Partnership Plan.

Performance Update

Reducing inequalities across South Tyneside is very important to us. We believe that all residents should have fair access to opportunities, regardless of their characteristics, background, or circumstances.

When we set out our Vision in November 2022, we specifically identified a cross-cutting ambition of ‘Targeting Support to Make Things Fairer’.

This summer we will be bringing forward a brand-new Equalities, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Strategy. This Strategy will set out what we stand for as a Council and a place, what inequalities exist across our borough, and what actions we will be taking over the next three years to improve things for the people who experience inequity in our borough.

Our action plan will focus on our three EDIB Objectives:

1. Improve our data and understanding
2. Strengthen our approach to engagement and co-production
3. Continue to embed EDIB into Our Culture, Workforce and Everything We Do.

Alongside this, over the last quarter services have continued to press ahead with a range of initiatives that will support improved access and inclusion for our residents:

• South Tyneside Council marked International Women’s Day 2024 and National Careers Week by hosting a careers networking event that brought girls and non-binary students from local primary and secondary schools together with inspirational local women working in careers linked to science, technology, engineering and maths.
• Lewis Hillis, a student from St Joseph’s Catholic Academy, and Yacub Ahmed, from Harton Academy, have been elected as South Tyneside’s new Member and Deputy Member for the Youth Parliament. More than 5000 votes were cast in the election by secondary schools across South Tyneside, with students selecting representatives to speak on their behalf locally and nationally on issues that matter to young people.
• The Council has partnered with LGBTQ+ charity Out North East to deliver the borough’s first major free Pride Event this summer, celebrating and promoting inclusivity and diversity through organising a month-long series of ‘Pride in South Tyneside’ events and celebrations taking place over July.
• A Community Dialogue Iftar and Diversity Dinner run by the North East Dialogue Society was hosted at South Shields Town Hall during Ramadan in March, bringing members of the local community together to celebrate diversity and unity.
• A new toolkit on how to support staff with caring responsibilities has been developed for South Tyneside employers, helping them respond to new legislation and support their staff with flexible.
• South Tyneside Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces community has been recognised again by the Ministry of Defence which has revalidated it as a Gold Award holder in its Employment Recognition Scheme. The award recognises work undertaken locally over the last five years to enhance support offered to past and present military personnel, including the establishment of an Armed Forces employee network, social prescribing work with health partners as part of the ‘Forces for Change’ programme, and the development of an Armed Forces Action Plan identifying further opportunities to celebrate, support and advocate for the local armed forces community.
• The Council marked Holocaust Memorial Day in January, bringing together community representatives and school children for a poignant memorial service to reflect on the ‘Fragility of Freedom’ theme, and the millions of lives lost both to nazi persecution and more recent acts of genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

In the previous Quarterly Performance Report, we outlined some of the challenges around identifying suitable ‘Targeting Support to Make Things Fairer’ key performance indicators equivalent to those we report on for the other Ambition areas, noting that there are not many data sets that can be disaggregated by protected characteristics and even fewer that are available on a frequent enough basis as to allow quarterly reporting.

Working closely with our partners and other local authorities, in line with our ‘Improving our Data and Understanding’ objective we will continue to find ways to improve the equalities-related data and intelligence we can access to help us make informed decisions. Over the coming months, this will include a new Data Observatory, to bring together key data in one place, as well as a new Annual Equality information Report, which will be published online for all to access.

In the meantime, in the Quarter 3 (October to December 2023) Performance Update Report instead of sharing the limited indicators we do have access to on a quarterly basis, we chose to share some of the more nuanced intelligence we have from a range of sources on access and outcome gaps experienced by people with different protected characteristics and living in different parts of the borough.

Going forward, we intend to use this section of the report to shine a spotlight on a rolling basis on the intelligence we do have about inequalities experienced by different cohorts of service users across different service areas.

For this report, we have chosen to look closely at how characteristics including age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status affect smoking behaviours and shape the take-up and outcomes of stop smoking services.

Spotlight on: Smoking Inequalities

General Context on Smoking Prevalence and Outcomes:

• 15.2% of adults in South Tyneside are smokers (vs 13.1% regionally and 12.7% nationally).
• Smoking prevalence rates have reduced significantly over the last decade both nationally and locally, with local rates dropping from 22.7% in 2011 to 15.2% in 2022.
• 12% of women giving birth in South Tyneside in 2021/22 were smokers at time of birth, higher than the 8% nationally – however, this proportion has halved since 2010/11 (when a quarter of women giving birth locally were smokers).
• Smoking is a leading cause of preventable illness and death. Around 300 South Tyneside residents die of smoking attributed deaths each year.

Sex-Related Inequalities

• Nationally, 14.5% men smoke, compared to 10.9% of women.
• In South Tyneside, smoking rates are highest amongst males, however women consistently make more quit attempts than men.
• Locally, quit rates are typically higher amongst males, though the variation is not statistically significant.

Age-Related Inequalities

• National figures in 2022 show that 25-29 year olds have the highest smoking prevalence with a rate of 16.4%.
• In South Tyneside, attempts to quit smoking per 100,000 peak amongst those aged 35-44 before declining.
• Locally, quit success increases with age, with those aged 60+ significantly more likely to achieve a 4 week quit via the stop smoking service than any other age group.

Ethnicity-Related Inequalities

• Nationally, people of mixed race are more likely than other ethnicities to smoke, with black, Asian and Chinese people less likely than average to smoke.
• Locally, smoking prevalence is almost identical between people who are White British and people with a recorded ethnicity other than White British.
• Locally, 97% of quit attempts are amongst those who are White British, with less than 3% of those from other ethnicities attempting a quit.

Socio-economic Inequalities

• 23.4% of South Tyneside residents in routine and manual occupations are smokers. (Similarly, nationally those in routine and manual occupation are 2.7x more likely to smoke than those in managerial and professional occupations.)
• National data shows that people living in more deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to smoke.
• In Beacon and Bents, one of the borough’s most deprived wards, 28.4% of people are smokers, whereas in Cleadon and Whitburn, one of the least deprived wards, just 6.8% are smokers.
• Incidence of lung cancer and emergency hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are highest among South Tyneside’s more deprived wards and lower in the least deprived wards.

Other Inequalities:

• 26.4% of South Tyneside residents with a long-term mental health condition are smokers.

Additional Information

The new 'Our South Tyneside' report - has been published on the Council's website and made available to Elected Members, council employees and wider stakeholders, drawing together the latest data and intelligence on the local population, including demographics, health, independence, children and families, and the economy.

View the latest 'Targeting Support to Make Things Fairer' Action Plan, which is part of the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023-26 for more information on the activities planned to progress this Ambition.

As a Council, we are committed to listening to and working hand in hand with residents and service-users as we strive to bring forward improvements in line with our Ambitions.

In the last quarter, we have undertaken a wide range of engagement and research activities to help ensure that our efforts are aligned to local needs and preferences:

• Our Hebburn Conversation (November to January) - The Council carried out a 3-month consultation asking questions about what the future might look like for Hebburn Town Centre, Riverside Park and Hebburn surroundings.
• Survey of Unpaid Adult Carers (January) – Adults in South Tyneside who look after a partner, family member or friend were encouraged to share their views and help shape support for carers in the future by taking part in a 15-minute online survey that covered issues such as health and wellbeing, money and work, social life, ‘me-time’ and access to services.
• Local Plan Consultation (January to March) – South Tyneside published its ‘Draft 19 Local Plan’, a framework for where new homes, businesses and leisure facilities will be built up until 2040, and has held a comprehensive consultation, including a range of information sessions and an online survey, to get residents views on the plan.
• Habitat Regulations Assessment Consultation (January to March) – Linked to the Local Plan consultation, residents were asked to share their views on the draft Habitat Regulations Assessment, the process that determines how proposed developments are considered in terms of their impact on major national conservation sites in the area surrounding South Tyneside, including the Northumbria Coast, the Durham Coast and Northumberland Marine Special Protection Area.
• Sustainability Appraisal Consultation (January to March) – Residents were invited to comment, alongside the Local Plan, on the draft Sustainability Appraisal, the process that will assess the social, environmental and economic impacts of plans, policies and strategies and support with the identification of amends to avoid or mitigate negative impacts.
• Housing Review (January to March) – A consultation and ballot of Council housing tenants and leaseholders has taken place to get views on proposals to see the management of South Tyneside Council’s housing stock, previously delivered by South Tyneside Homes, to be brought back ‘in house’, following an independent review in 2023.
• Fellgate Sustainable Growth Area: Supplementary Planning Document Scoping Report (January to March) – Residents were invited to have their say on the key issues that the masterplan for the Fellgate Sustainable Growth Area should be addressing, such as connectivity, housing, social infrastructure, sustainability and identity, and the possible approaches the document could adopt to address those issues.
• Public Spaces Protection Orders Consultation (February to April) – Local people have been encouraged to give their views on plans for a three-year extension of existing local Public Spaces Protection Orders, which give the Council and police additional powers and greater flexibility to tackle anti-social behaviour problems including the use of motorbikes of public land and drinking alcohol and taking psychoactive substances in a public place.
• South Tyneside Electoral Review New Draft Recommendations Consultation (May to July) – Further to initial consultation in May to July 2023 on local views on ward boundaries and local community identities, and then consultation on initial recommendations in December 2023, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England have developed a further set of new draft recommendations and undertaken a further 10-week consultation on these new recommendations, which it is expected will apply to local elections from 2026.

Additional publicly available data can be found here:

• The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities publishes a range of public health range and profiles, including some at local authority level, which can be explored using the 'Fingertips' tool.
• The Office for National Statistic's 'NOMIS' service publishes a range of official statistics related to population, society, and the labour market at national, regional and local levels, including data from current and previous censuses. View the latest Labour Market Profile for South Tyneside.
• The Local Authority Interactive Tool presents information on topics ranging from children looked after by local authorities, to pupil attainment, Ofsted judgements, youth justice statistics and more, in the form of interactive tables and charts with different local authorities rank and positions.
• The Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework contains a range of measures of how well care and services in different local authorities do on a range of quality of live measures.
• LG Inform is the local area benchmarking tool from the Local Government Association

Q1 2024-25 Quarterly Report to Cabinet

2 October 2024

Annual Report 2024 and Q2 2024-25 Quarterly Report to Cabinet

8 January 2025

Q3 2024-25 Quarterly Report to Cabinet

April/May 2025 (Exact date tbc)

Care Leaver

The Care Leavers’ Association has a simple definition of a care leaver – any adult who has spent time in care. The legal definition of a care leaver comes from The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 which states that a Care Leaver is someone who has been in the care of the Local Authority for a period of 13 weeks or more spanning their 16th birthday.

Care Leavers EET

This indicator is the percentage of 19 to 21 year-old care leavers in education, training or employment. It covers young people whose 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls between 1 April and 31 March (each given year) who were previously looked after for least 13 weeks after their 14th birthday, including some time after their 16th birthday, are considered. The national measure is based on the situation around the young person birthday.

Child in Need

Under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, Local Authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area if they are in need. A child is in need when they are disabled, or they are unlikely to achieve a reasonable standard of health or development or if a child’s health or development is likely to be significantly impaired if services are not offered to him or her.

Child Protection

The safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm, responding to allegations or suspicions of abuse and providing support and services to protect children.

Child Protection Plan

For all those children who have been identified at a Child Protection Conference as being at a continuing risk of significant harm, a Child Protection Plan will be created. This is a plan setting out what steps and provisions are needed to safeguard a child’s welfare and minimize all risks of harm to a child.

Children Cared For

Cared for children are children in the care of the local authority (also known as a child in care, looked after child or child looked after). They might be living: with foster parents; at home with their parents under the supervision of social services; in residential children’s homes; other residential settings like schools or secure units; or in 16+ provision such as supported lodgings or supported accommodation. They might have been placed in care voluntarily by parents struggling to cope.

Children's Residential Homes

A type of residential care, which refers to long-term care given to children who cannot stay in their birth family home.

Claimant rate

Claimant Count measures the number of unemployed people receiving unemployment benefits.

Commissioned service

Care, support or supervision that has been arranged and paid for on a client’s behalf by a public authority such as: In the case of personal care, a local authority adult social care department.

Community shops

Shops that trade as businesses, but they trade primarily for community benefit. An example of this could be Lucie’s Laundry, a launderette for anyone in the community to use free of charge.

CQC

Care Quality Commission. CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. CQC make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve. They monitor, inspect, and regulate services and publish what we find. Where we find poor care, we will use our powers to act.

Economically Active

Those aged 16 and over who are either in employment or unemployed. Economically inactive people are those who are neither employed nor unemployed; they are not in paid work, but they are also not looking for a job or available to start work (this includes people who are retired, looking after family or sick/disabled)

Education Health and Care Plan / EHCP

An education, health and care (EHC) plan is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support. EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.

Employment rate

Employment rate: the employment rate is the percentage of the population who are working age (16-64) who who did some paid work in the reference week (whether as an employee or self-employed), including those who had a job that they were temporarily away from (e.g. on holiday), those on government-supported training and employment programmes, and those doing unpaid family work.

Enterprise Zones

Geographically defined areas, hosted by Local Enterprise Partnerships in which commercial and industrial businesses can receive incentives to set up or expand. Businesses locating to an Enterprise Zone can receive business tax of up to 100% over a five-year period.

Fuel poor

Households are considered fuel poor if they are living in a property with an energy efficiency rating of band D or below and after housing and energy costs, their income is below the poverty line.

Grades 9-4

GCSE Grades are now numbered with 9 being the highest grade. Grade 4 or above is the equivalent of a C, a strong C is a grade 5.

Harder-to-house

Residents whose special needs and multiple risk factors make them complicated to serve and who are involved in an organized supportive services program(s).

Homeless presentations

Those who have no home or permanent place of residence.

Legacy Benefits

A legacy benefit is a benefit which is being replaced by Universal Credit. There are six legacy benefits: income-based jobseekers’ allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, housing benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit.

Liaison role

A Liaison facilitates communication between two or more parties to help their organisation reach a beneficial decision for their needs.

Long-term residential placement

Means a placement in a where there is an intention that the placement shall become the Resident's permanent residence.

Out of work benefits

Employment and Support Allowance and other incapacity benefits, and Income Support and Pension Credit.

Reablement facilities

Reablement is an intensive short service, which is offered to those recovering from an illness or injury or after discharge from hospital. The aim is to help recover some or all of their independence.

Referral

The referring of concerns to local authority children's social care services, where the referrer believes or suspects that a child may be a Child in Need, including that he or she may be suffering, or is likely to suffer, Significant Harm. The referral should be made in accordance with the agreed local safeguarding procedures.

Residential Care

Residential care refers to long-term care given to people who stay in a residential setting rather than in their own home or family home. In Adult Social Care this includes residential care homes and nursing homes.

Rough sleepers

People sleeping rough are defined as those sleeping or about to bed down in open air locations and other places including tents and makeshift shelters. The snapshot does not include people in hostels or shelters, sofa surfers or those in recreational or organised protest, squatter or traveller campsites.

Short term residential care

A person moves into a residential or nursing home temporarily.

Special Free School

A school which is a free to attend and is specially organised to make special educational provision for pupils with SEN. EHCP’s replaced Statements for children and young people with additional needs under the Children and Families Act 2014.

The National Child Measurement Programme

A nationally mandated public health programme. It provides the data for the child excess weight indicators in the Public Health Outcomes Framework and is part of the government’s approach to tackling child obesity.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking child

A child who is under 18 years, does not have any parent or responsible older adult to look after them, and is making a claim for asylum can be described as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC). The local authority will be responsible for their care and providing them with a home if the child’s age is accepted as being under 18.

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate is the proportion of working aged people (aged 16+) without a job who were available to start work in the two weeks following their interview and who had either looked for work in the four weeks prior to interview or were waiting to start a job they had already obtained. As Annual Population Survey estimates for local authorities are based on very small sample sizes, modelbased unemployment estimates produced by the Office for National Statistics, which also factor in Claimant Count figures, are used to get more precise estimates.