State of Cannock Chase LAA Planning Workshop September 2006 Stephen Brown, CEO, Cannock Chase Council

Cannock Chase is the most deprived Local Authority area within Staffordshire.  Cannock North (3 SOAs)  Cannock East (2 SOAs)  Cannock South (2 SOAs)  Etching Hill & The Heath *Indices of Deprivation 2004  Hednesford North  Norton Canes  Hagley  Brereton and Ravenhill The following wards contain Super Output Areas (SOAs) within the worst 25% in England*:– Statistical Overview

Key Deprivation Themes:  Education, Skills and Training  Employment  Health and Disability  Income

Public Perception Top 5 priorities for making somewhere a better place to live (2005):  Low levels of crime (67%)  Health services (59%)  Affordable decent housing (57%)  Education provision (46%)  Job prospects (36%) Low levels of crime and health services have remained people’s top priorities since Job prospects has seen an upward trend over the past two years with more people regarding this as a higher priority.

Public Perception Top Five Priorities in need of improvement: 2005:  Activities for Teenagers  Low level of crime  Road & pavement repairs  Clean Streets  Health Services 2003:  Low level of crime  Road & pavement repairs  Activities for teenagers  Clean streets  Health services

Children & Young People The District continues to have some of the lowest levels of education attainment and participation in Staffordshire In 2005, 49% of pupils achieve 5+A*-C or equivalent, 7% below the national and 5% below the County average 66% of Y11 pupils continued in F/T education compared to 73% for Staffordshire and nationally 10% of school leavers were not yet settled

Children & Young People  Income Deprivation affecting children indicates that 18% (3,458) of children are income deprived  Youth unemployment proportions are higher in Cannock Chase 34% compared to 29% in Staffordshire and 30% nationally  Young people perceive Rugeley town centre to be least safe whereas Cannock town centre is perceived by this age group to be the safest of the three town centres.  For the past two years activities for teenagers has been regarded as the top priority in most need of improvement.

Safer & Stronger Communities Slight fall in the fear of crime, but violent crime, criminal damage and ASB is increasing.  Almost half of local people are reported to be either very or fairly afraid of becoming a victim of crime  Only 4.5% of people feel unsafe in their neighbourhood during the day, but 38.2% of people feel unsafe at night, compared to 15.5% in 2002  53% feel unsafe in their town centre at night  68% state they feel unsafe because they see no visible presence in their neighbourhood

Safer & Stronger Communities Local people are most concerned with:  Nuisance teenagers  Using/dealing of drugs  Anti-social behaviour Cannock East ward is the worst for acquisitive crimes Western Springs ward for assaults and ASB

Healthier Communities & Older People  Life expectancy for the District shows improvement but remain s lower than the national average  key health issues include coronary heart disease, cancer and teenage conception rates  31% do not spend any of the days in their week exercising for 20 minutes that makes them sweat/out of breath  16% of the population aged 60+ are affected by income deprivation* *Indices of Deprivation 2004

Healthier Communities & Older People  The most popular physical activity is housework/childcare followed by walking. Cycling is the least popular.  Just over half of local people would favour all indoor public areas to be smoke free  Health services are one of the top priorities in making Cannock Chase a better place to live

Economic Development & Enterprise  Gross weekly wages for residents are 18% lower than the average for GB.  VAT Registered businesses show a growth of 12% between 2000 and 2004  Between 2002 and 2003 the total number of jobs has increased by 3%, but;  Unemployment in Cannock Chase has grown steadily over and the number long-term unemployed has increased by 20% between 2004 and 2006  20% of working–age residents have no qualifications, compared to 15% for GB.

Sustainable Development  Easy access to parks and open spaces  Lowest levels of carbon emissions within Staffordshire  Amount of household waste recycled is improving Local people considered the following issues to be of importance:  Improve public transport  Encourage organisations to consider the environmental impact of the services they provide