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Cornwall (Local Profiles 2012)

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Key Facts

> Life expectancy in Cornwall for both men (78.7 years) and women (82.8 years) was lower than the South West average.

> The rate of teenage conception in Cornwall (33.2 per 1,000 women aged 15-17) was lower than the rate for the South West (34.5 per 1,000) and England (40.2).

> The crime rate in Cornwall (25.3 per 1,000 population) was lower than the rate for the South West (33.8 per 1,000) and England and Wales (41.3 per 1,000).

> Median gross annual pay in Cornwall was £22,068 (South West £24,922, England £26,165)

> The latest unemployment rate for Cornwall is 9.1% (South West 6.0%, England 7.6%)

> 54.2% of Cornwall pupils achieved 5+ GCSEs grades A*-C or equivalent, including Maths and English (South West 57.5%, England 58.3%).

> Cornwall’s lowest quartile affordability ratio (house price to earnings ratio: a higher ratio means less affordable housing) was 9.0 (South West 8.2, England 6.7).

> There were 391 road casualties per 100,000 population in Cornwall (South West 310, England 355).

Demographics

Population by Local Authority
  • Cornwall has the third highest population of the 16 South West county and unitary authorities, and accounts for over 10% of the SW population.
  • The Isles of Scilly has by far the lowest population of any English county or unitary.
  • Cornwall has the second largest land area of the 16 county and unitary authorities in the South West, but the fourth lowest population density. The Isles of Scilly has the lowest land area and the second lowest density (after Devon).

  Pop. 1000s Area  Persons per sq km
Sq Km
Cornwall 535.3 3,547 151
Isles of Scilly 2.1 16 131
South West 5,273.70 23,837 221
England 52,234.00 130,281 401
ONS - Mid Year Estimates 2010  / ONS Census 2001 Area data

Population Change Since the 2001 Census
  • Cornwall’s population has grown by 7.3% since the 2001 Census. The Isles of Scilly’s population decreased by 2.5% over the same period.
[ Zoom ]
Cornwall Local Profile - Percentage Population Change since the last Census
Cornwall Local Profile - Percentage Population Change since the last Census
Population by Age
  • The mean age in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly is higher than the South West and England means. (2001: Cornwall 42.1, Isles of Scilly 41.9, South West 40.6, England 38.6).
  • The Isles of Scilly has the third highest proportion of older people among the 16 South West county and unitary authorities. Cornwall has the fifth highest proportion.
Cornwall Population by Age
Cornwall Local Profile Population by Age
Ethnicity
  • Of the 16 South West county and unitary authorities, the Isles of Scilly (0.3%) and Cornwall (1.0%) had the lowest proportion of non-white ethnic population in 2001.
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Cornwall Local Profile: Non White Ethnicity (percentage of toal population)
Cornwall Local Profile: Non White Ethnicity (percentage of toal population)

Local Authority

Political Representation
  • Cornwall has 6 MPs, 3 of whom are Liberal Democrats (Cornwall North, St Austell & Newquay and St Ives), and 3 are Conservative (Camborne & Redruth, Cornwall South East and Truro & Falmouth).
  • No political party has a majority of Councillors in Cornwall Council; however, the Conservatives form the largest group.
  • All the Isles of Scilly Councillors are independent.

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Cornwall Local Profile Councillors by Party
Cornwall Local Profile Councillors by Party
Council Tax 2010/11
  • In Cornwall, the average council tax per dwelling is £1,163 (South West £1,272, England £1,196). Average Band D council tax is £1,460 (South West £1,500, England £1,439).
  • For the Isles of Scilly the average council tax was £1,237, while for Band D the figure was £1,187 (the lowest for any district or unitary authority in the South West).
  • Due to the Government freeze on Council Tax these figures are almost identical to those for 2010/11.

CLG Local Government Finance Council Taxes 2011/12.

Earnings & Economy

Gross Annual Pay
  • Median gross full-time annual pay among Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly residents is £22,068, a fall of 0.1% from 2010. This is well below both the South West (£24,922) and England (£26,615).
  • The equivalent pay figure for those working in Cornwall & IoS is £21,510, illustrating a tendency for residents to commute to other areas for higher paid work.
  • Median gross full-time annual pay for Cornwall & IoS resident men is 20% higher than women. In the South West men’s pay is 29% higher and in England 25% higher.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings (ASHE) 2011

Local Enterprise Zones (LEPs)
  • Local Enterprise Partnerships are locally-owned partnerships between local authorities and businesses and play a central role in determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of local jobs.
  • Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly formed a LEP together in the second wave.

Productivity (GVA)
  • Gross Value Added (GVA) per head in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in 2009 was £13,129, the 2nd lowest (after Torbay) of the 12 NUTS3 areas in the South West. The value for the South West is £18,184, for England £20,498.
  • Between 2008 and 2009 there was a decrease in Cornwall’s GVA per head, of -2.9% (South West -2.3%, England -2.2%).
  • Over the last 10 years Cornwall’s GVA per head has increased by 60.0% (South West 43.2%, England 44.3%), the biggest increase of any of the 12 NUTS3 areas in the South West.

ONS GVA per Head, Dec 2011

Enterprise Survival Rate
  • At the end of 2010, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had 19,610 VAT/PAYE registered businesses.
  • During 2010 there was a decrease in the number of VAT registered businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, by -3.2% (South West -2.1%, England: -1.9%).
    The 3-year survival rate of enterprises that started in 2007 in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is 65.9% (South West 65.9%, England: 62.9%). This rate has decreased from 68.5% in 2006.
  • Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly had 1,525 new businesses in 2010, a change of -8.2% from 2009 (South West -0.6%, England -0.7%).

ONS Business Demography 2010
Data Limitations: Business Demography statistics exclude Agriculture

Employment

Unemployment and Claimant Rate
  • The employment rate in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has decreased in the year to Dec 2010. It is lower than the rates for both South West and England.

% of working age population Jan 09 – Dec 09 Jan 10 – Dec 10 % point change
Cornwall  69.4 68.8 -0.6
South West 74.2 73.6 -0.6
England 70.9 70.4 -
  • The latest unemployment rate in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is 9.1% of the economically active 16+ population (South West 6.0%, England: 7.6%).
  • The Cornwall claimant count rate is slightly higher than a year earlier, while the Isles of Scilly claimant count has remained the same as a year ago.
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Cornwall Local Profile Total Claimants as a Percentage of Working Age Population
Cornwall Local Profile Total Claimants as a Percentage of Working Age Population
Employment & unemployment: Annual Population Survey Jan – Dec 09
ONS Claimant Count, Dec 2011

Employment by Sector
  • The largest sector in Cornwall is in public administration, defence, education and health (28.8%) closely followed by manufacturing and wholesale and retail (26.8%).
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Cornwall Local Profile Employmeny by Sector
Cornwall Local Profile Employmeny by Sector
Business Register and Employment Survey 2010 (available via NOMIS)

Education and Skills

School Qualifications
  • Results for 2010/11 show 54.2% of pupils in the Cornwall Local Education Authority (LEA) achieved 5+ GCSEs or equivalent at Grade A*-C including English & Maths by the end of Key Stage 4.  This is lower than averages for both the South West (57.5%) and England (58.3%), and is the 3rd lowest pass rate of the region’s LEAs. The Isles of Scilly had the highest pass rate (68.4%) for an LEAs in the South West.
  • The Cornwall Key Stage 2 pass rates for both subjects are the same as the England average, but slightly lower than the South West rate overall.
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Cornwall School Qualifications
Cornwall School Qualifications
DfE GCSE & KS2 2010/11 (prov)
NB: provisional figures are based on data provided by Awarding Bodies, subject to checking by schools, and so should be treated with caution. Figures may be different in future revised releases

School Absenteeism
  • Cornwall’s rate of unauthorised absence at primary and secondary school level are both lower than the average for the SW and England.
  • The Isles of Scilly primary school rate is also lower than the regional and national rates.

% half days missed,  Maintained primary schools Maintained secondary schools
Cornwall  0.36 0.94
Isles of Scilly 0.24 Not applicable
South West 0.49 1.1
England 0.67 1.38
DfE Pupil Absence in Schools in England 2009/10

Workforce Qualifications
  • 12.3% of the workforce of Cornwall has no qualifications, a higher proportion than both England (11.1%) and the South West (8.4%) and the highest of all county and unitary authorities in the South West.
  • The proportion of workers qualified to NVQ4 and above (26.6%) is lower than the figures for the South West (31.5%) and England (31.1%).
  • Figures are not available for the Isles of Scilly.

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Cornwall Local Profile Workforce Qualifications
Cornwall Local Profile Workforce Qualifications

Health

Life Expectancy
  • Male life expectancy in Cornwall is 78.7 years (South West: 79.2, England: 78.3).
  • Female life expectancy is 82.8 years (South West: 83.3, England 82.3).
  • These were the 168th (for men) and 150th (for women) longest life expectancies out of 326 unitary and district Authorities in England.

ONS Life Expectancy at Birth 3-yr rolling average 2007-09 (NB: No figures for IoS)

Infant Mortality
  • Cornwall has an infant mortality rate which is the same as the South West as a whole, but below the England rate.
  • In recent years the trend has been for a fall in the rate of infant mortality in Cornwall. The South West and England rates have also consistently fallen over recent years.

Mortality all causes – Infants < 1 year
Deaths/1000 live births 2004-06 2005-07 2006-08 2007-09
Cornwall 5 4.4 4.4 4
South West 4.4 4.2 4.1 4
England 5 4.9 4.8 4.7

National Centre for Health Outcomes Development 3-yr rolling average 2007-09

Teenage Conceptions
  • Cornwall’s teenage conception rate is lower than the rate for both the South West and England.
  • The rate has steadily reduced over the last three reporting periods, as has the England rate.

Conception rates per 1000 women aged 15-17
3-year rolling averages 2001-03 2004-06 2007-09
Cornwall 35.9 34.2 33.2
South West 35.5 34.3 34.5
England  42.4 41.1 40.2

ONS 3-year rolling average 2007-09

NHS Trust Performance Indicators
  • The Care Quality Commission’s new Annual Health Check gives all NHS organisations a two-part annual performance rating.

Healthcare organisation Overall quality of services* Financial management score*
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust Weak Fair
Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust (mental health) Good Good
Cornwall and Isles Of Scilly  PCT Fair Good
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust Good Good

*excellent, good, fair, or weak

  • Of the 12 Ambulance Services in England in 2010/11, South Western had the 3rd highest 8 minute response rate and the 6th lowest 19 minute response rate. Both rates have improved from the previous year.

Ambulance response South Western England target
time target – Category A
Arrive within 8 minutes 76.90% >75%
Arrive within 19 minutes 96.10% >95%

Care Quality Commission Annual Health Check 2008/09 / DH Ambulance Services, England 2010-11

Crime

Key Offences
  • Cornwall had the fourth lowest overall crime rate of the 16 unitary and county authorities in the South West in 2010/11, at 25.3 offences per 1,000 population. The Isles of Scilly had the lowest.
  • Cornwall’s rates for the key offences largely unchanged from 2009/10. Overall crime was down from 28.0 offences per 1,000 population.
  • In 2010/11 Devon and Cornwall Police ranked 6th highest out of all 38 English force areas for local people having confidence in the police and local councils dealing with issues (55.9% strongly agree/tend to agree, significantly higher than the average for England and Wales of 52.7%).
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Cornwall Local Profile Offences per 1,000 population 2010/11
Cornwall Local Profile Offences per 1,000 population 2010/11
* Burglary: Offences per 1,000 households # Aggregates theft of a vehicle and theft from a vehicle Home Office Crime in England & Wales 20010/11/British Crime Survey 2010/11

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2010

  • In the IMD 2010, 33 (10%) of the 328 Cornish Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are within the most deprived 20% in England.
  • Eight LSOAs are in the most deprived 10% nationally, including two in Cambourne and two in Penzance.
  • The Isles of Scilly are one complete LSOA, which ranks almost exactly in the middle of all English LSOAs for deprivation (16,037th out of 32,482 LSOAs). 

[ Zoom ]
SWO Cornwall Local Profile 2012
SWO Cornwall Local Profile 2012

Housing

House Prices
  • The median house price in Cornwall in the first quarter (Q1) of 2011 was £185,000, 2% above the South West median (£181,500), but almost 6% above the median for England (£175,000).  This represents a 4% decrease from the previous quarter and a 3% decrease on the same quarter in 2010.  
  • The median house price in the Isles of Scilly in Q1 of 2011 was £344,600, almost 90% above the South West median and almost twice the England median. However, house prices per quarter can vary greatly in the Isles of Scilly due to volume of sales and suppression of disclosive data.
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Cornwall Local Profile Median House Prices (£ year-on-year comparison)
Cornwall Local Profile Median House Prices (£ year-on-year comparison)
House Prices: DCLG Table 582

Affordability
  • Affordability ratios are calculated as house price divided by annual workplace-based earnings.
  • The 2010 median affordability ratio for Cornwall & Isles of Scilly was 9.0, making house prices less affordable than either the South West (ratio 7.9) or England (7.0).
  • Ratios calculated on lower quartile (LQ) house prices and earnings better reflect the first time buyers’ market. The 2010 LQ affordability ratio for Cornwall was 9.3 the 4th highest in the South West counties and unitary authorities and well above South West and English ratios. (South West 8.2, England 6.7)

DCLG Tables 576 and 577

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation
  • In the financial year of 2010/11, Cornwall accepted 524 households (2.3 per 1,000) as being homeless and in priority need (South West 1.5, England 2.0). Cornwall had 421 households in temporary accommodation, 125 of which were in bed and breakfast accommodation.
  • In the same year in Cornwall there were a total of 956 households where positive action was successful in preventing or relieving homelessness (4.1 per 1,000 households, South West 7.2, England 8.7).

DCLG Tables 784 and 792. For more information on homelessness prevention and relief data see:  http://bit.ly/pRGark

Second Homes
  • In the Census 2001, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly almost 5% of homes were recorded as 2nd residences or holiday homes in the Census, the highest % in the region.
  • This proportion was highest in the Isles of Scilly, where 25% of homes were recorded as such.

ONS Census 2001

Planning and Land Use

Planning Decisions
  • In the year ending March 2011, Cornwall made decisions on 7,514 planning applications, 162 of which were for major developments. In the Isles of Scilly, 90 decisions were made, none of which related to a major development.
  • Time taken to decide applications by different development type are shown in the table below.

Speed of decision by development type
  % major within 13 weeks % minor within 8 weeks % other within 8 weeks
Cornwall 66 69 81
Isles of Scilly - - 84
South West 64 72 84
England 66 75 86
CLG Statistics of Planning Applications Q1 to year ending Mar 11

Land Use
  • In 2007-10, 56% of new dwellings in Cornwall were built on previously developed land. This was lower than the South West (66%) and England (77%) averages.
  • This was higher than the 2003-06 figure of 53%.
  • In 2007-10, the density of new dwellings built was 31 per hectare (South West 38, England 42).
  • Cornwall’s density of new dwellings built has increased from the 2003-06 figure of 28/ha.

CLG Land Use Change in England to 2010

Environment


Environmental Designations
  • The Cornwall AONB covers 958 sq km and extends over 12 separate parts of the county, including 10 stretches of coastline, the Camel estuary and Bodmin Moor. The Tamar Valley AONB also extends into Cornwall. The Isles of Scilly are covered completely by an AONB.
  • There are three National Nature Reserves (Golitha Falls, Goss Moor and the Lizard) covering 2460Ha.
  • The mining landscape of Cornwall and West Devon became a World Heritage site in 2006.

Transport

Average Traffic Speeds
  • In 2010/11, the average traffic speed during the weekday morning peak in Cornwall (32.8mph) was the 2nd highest for any unitary or county authority in the South West.

DfT Road Statistics 2011

Road Casualties
  • In 2010, there were 391 road casualties per 100,000 people in Cornwall, higher than the rates for the South West (310) or England (355). This was the highest rate for any unitary or county authority in the South West.
  • 9.5% of these casualties resulted in death or serious injury, lower than the South West and England rates (both 11.5%).

DfT Road Casualties Great Britain 2010

Air Travel
  • Cornwall has airports at Newquay (St Mawgan), and Lands End (St Just), and a heliport at Penzance.  In addition, the Isles of Scilly has airports at St Mary’s and Tresco.
  • In total these airports dealt with around 520,218 passengers in 2010. The busiest was Newquay (285,271), followed by St Mary’s (113,365) and Penzance (89,469). Over all these airports passenger numbers were down 0.7% on 2009 (South West -1.9%, England -3.4%).
  • In 2010, Newquay airport was the 4th busiest in the region, after Bristol, Bournemouth and Exeter. St Mary’s and Penzance were 5th and 7th busiest.

Civil Aviation Authority – UK Airport Statistics 2010

Travel to Work
  • A higher proportion of people in Cornwall work at home compared to either England or the South West, but a far lower proportion use public transport.

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Cornwall Local Profile Means of Travel to Work
Cornwall Local Profile Means of Travel to Work

Download Charts & Graphs

Please use these files in presentations/reports, but remember to reference the South West Observatory, providing a hyperlink to this page where possible.

Useful Resources

General
Download this Local Profile as a PDF

Understanding Cornwall 2011 (from Cornwall County Council)

Economy & Skills
Learn more about Cornwall & Scilly LEP Economic Profile

Social
Download APHO's Cornwall Health Profile

Download SWO's IMD 2010 Cornwall Report

Infrastructure & Environment
Download SWO's Environment Profile for Cornwall

Read more detailed Environmental Analysis about former Cornish Districts

To download charts and graphs from this report see below.