Achieving higher levels of economic growth is one of the main objectives of the current government.
However, for many neighbourhoods in England, high growth is a distant memory. The areas that most need economic growth have not seen it according to a report out today
The Local Trust’s Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods finds economic growth hasn’t trickled down from richer to more deprived areas, with disparities in job access meaning billions hasn’t been added to the economy.
The report says that living standards and opportunities have left the poorest neighbourhoods isolated from national prosperity.
If the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England had experienced productivity growth at the same rate as the rest of country through the 2010s, they would have added another £9.8bn per year to national output.
That is the equivalent of £2,618 of additional annual economic output per household
The authors of the report say that we need to accept that economic growth will not trickle-down to the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and we would be wrong to assume it will simply trickle out to them from major cities –
A rising tide in cities or regions will not lift the boats of disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Instead we need to build social capital within disadvantaged neighbourhoods, so that they are better primed to be economically successful over the long term and target policies that support investment, employment, connectivity and skills in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
They add that generic strategies that do not consider the specific challenges facing disadvantaged neighbourhoods will simply not work.
