The annual report that details Manchester’s progress in terms of goals set by the city’s Community Strategy and against the national picture has been released online.

Poverty, life expectancy, health  and skills are still major issues as the population continues to rise

Mid-year estimates show that in 2014 Manchester’s population had surpassed the Community Strategy target of 480,000 by reaching 520,000 people. The city’s population has grown at an annual rate of 1.6% – twice the average for England as a whole – and assuming this same level of growth, by 2021 the city could expect to be nearer 587,000.

Manchester, together with other southern districts of Greater Manchester, generated an economic output of £38.6bn in 2013 – a 5.6% increase on the previous year.
Measured in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) per head of resident population, Greater Manchester South outperforms out performs similar national and regional areas, rising from £24,710 in 2012 to £25,950 in 2013.
Consistent with the city’s GVA increase, the number of jobs rose between 2012 and 2013 by 5%, to stand at 334,700 – with around one fifth in professional, scientific, financial or business sectors compared to 14% nationally.
The employment rate has increased marginally over the last decade from 60% to 62% in 2014. However, the proportion of part-time workers, which rose during the downturn, is now showing signs of returning to pre-recession levels.
Manchester has the highest average weekly workplace wage (at £460) of the eight English Core Cities, but only the fifth highest resident wage (at £382) – the largest gap between workplace and resident wages in the Core City group.
The gap of people claiming out of work benefits continues to close, from 66,000 in 2001 (24% of the working age population) to 51,000 in 2014 (14% of the working age population – and now only 4.5 percentage points off the national average, compared to 11.5 in 2001.
The latest data indicates the number of Manchester children living in poverty has fallen from 36% to 33%, but this remains one of the highest rates in the country and above the national average of 19%.
Between 2004 and 2013 the proportion of the city’s residents with no qualifications fell from 25% to 13%, with the gap between the national rate decreased from nine to three percentage points. However, challenges remain at in improving the skills of residents over the age of 50 who are regularly out of work.
In school years education, the proportion of pupils achieving at least Level 4 in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 now equals the national average of 79% – with figures indicating that in Manchester’s more deprived communities, pupils perform better than their national equivalents.
At Key stage 4, the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSE A* – C passes is 51.4% and while this is 2 percentage points below the national average, the gap has narrowed in recent years.
Health-wise, life expectancy at age 65 continues to rise slowly at 16 years for men and 18.9 years for women (2011-2013), however the gap between Manchester and England has increased to stand at 2.7 years for men and 2.2 years for women.
The mortality rate from preventable causes continues its downward trend to 320 per 100,000 in 2011-13 – but is still far higher than the national rate.
The rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions remains high (at 3,309 per 100,000) and 55% of the national rate. Successful drug treatment for opiate users has shown continued improvement and at 8.6% is above the national rate of 7.6%.
Manchester has one of the highest under-18 conception rates in the country but continues a downward trend with a 51% reduction between 2005 and 2013 to stand at 36.5 per 1,000.
The proportion of adults in contact with secondary mental health services in paid employment increased to 3.9% during 2014/15, and the proportion living independently increased by 8.4 percentage points to 69.5%.
The number of older people who entered residential and nursing homes for long-term care saw a reduction of 306.2 per 100,000 to 455.15, although the number of younger adults admitted to care increased by 5.95 per 100,000.
The total number of victim-based crimes rose for a second consecutive year, but the latest total is 37% less than it was a decade ago – with decreases in vehicle crime, robbery and criminal damage. However, sexual offences and less serious violence have increased – along with anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents and recorded hate crimes.
The latest data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) shows that by 2012 Manchester had achieved a 10.2% reduction in CO2 level (from a 2005 baseline), with a target to reduce emissions by 41% by 2020. The Manchester: A Certain Future (MACF) CO2 Monitoring Group estimates a 20.3% reduction by 2014.
Nitrogen dioxide monitoring targets are being met in south Manchester close to the airport and Piccadilly Gardens, but are still being exceeded at the Oxford Road monitoring site.
Fly-tipping reports fell by 11.5% during the last 12 months, but household waste recycled fell for two consecutive years (from 37% in 2013) to stand at 33% in 2014/15.
Enjoying something of a cultural renaissance with the reopening of The Whitworth and the announcement of major cultural facility, The Factory, last year, the city council’s cultural assets attracted 34.5m visitors in 2014/15. 
Manchester Art Gallery visitors rose to 520,000 and the reopening of Central Library contributed to a 47% increase in library visits across the city. Sport participation also rose to 42%, compared to a national average of 36%.
The State of the City report is available at www.manchester.gov.uk/SoC2015

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