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Gloucestershire (Local Profiles 2012)

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Key Facts

> Life expectancy in Gloucestershire for both men (79.3 years) and women (83.2 years) was higher than the England average.

> The rate of teenage conception in Gloucestershire (29.0 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 Gloucestershire (34.1 per 1,000 population) was above the rate for the South West (33.8 per 1,000) but lower than the rate for England and Wales (41.3 per 1,000).

> Median gross annual pay in Gloucestershire was £25,539 (South West £24,922, England £26,165)

> The latest unemployment rate for Gloucestershire is 5.5% (South West 6.0%, England 7.6%)

> 62.5% of Gloucestershire pupils achieved 5+ GCSEs grades A*-C or equivalent, including Maths and English (South West 57.5%, England 58.3%).

> Gloucestershire’s lowest quartile affordability ratio (house price to earnings ratio: a higher ratio means less affordable housing) was 7.5 (South West 8.2, England 6.7).

> There were 258 road casualties per 100,000 population in Gloucestershire (South West 310, England 355).

Demographics

Population by Local Authority
  • Gloucestershire’s population is the 2nd highest of the 16 county and unitary authorities in the South West, after Devon.
  • It makes up 11.3% of the total South West population.
  • It has the 7th lowest population density of the 16 county and unitary authorities in the South West.  Gloucester and Cheltenham have, respectively, the 4th and 6th highest densities of the 37 South West Unitary and District authorities.

 

Pop. 1000s

Area

Sq Km

Persons per sq km

Gloucestershire

593.5

2,653

224

  Cheltenham

115.3

47

2453

  Cotswold

83.5

1,165

72

  Forest of Dean

82.9

527

157

  Gloucester

118.4

41

2888

  Stroud

111.7

461

242

  Tewkesbury

81.7

414

197

  South West

5,273.7

23,837

221

  England

52,234.0

130,281

401

ONS - Mid Year Estimates 2010  / ONS Census 2001 Area data

Population Change Since the 2001 Census
  • Since the 2001 census, Gloucestershire’s population grew by 5.1% (South West 7.0%, England 6.3%).
  • Gloucester had the largest rise (7.7%) of the districts, while Stroud had the lowest (3.5%).
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Percentage Population Change since 2001
Gloucestershire Local Profile Percentage Population Change since 2001
Census 2001 and ONS Mid Year Estimate 2010

Population by Age
  • Gloucestershire has the 5th highest percentage of children among the 16 South West county and unitary authorities.

[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Population Percentage by Age
Gloucestershire Local Profile Population Percentage by Age
Mean: ONS Census 2001 / Breakdown: ONS Mid Year Estimates 2010

Ethnicity
  • In 2001, the County had the 4th largest proportion of ethnic minorities among the 15 South West county and unitary authorities (excluding the Isles of Scilly). Over half lived in Gloucester.
  • Gloucester had the 2nd largest proportion of ethnic minorities of the South West Unitary and District authorities.
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Non White Ethnicity
Gloucestershire Local Profile Non White Ethnicity
ONS 2001 Census

Local Authority

Political Representation
  • Gloucestershire has 6 MPs: 5 Conservatives (Cotswolds, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury), and 1 Liberal Democrat (Cheltenham).
  • The Conservatives have a majority in the County Council.
  • 4 of the 6 district councils in the county (Cotswold, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury) also have Conservative majorities. In the Forest of Dean no party has an overall majority, while Cheltenham has a Liberal Democrat majority.
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Councillors by Party
Gloucestershire Local Profile Councillors by Party
Council Tax 2010/11
  • Across Gloucestershire, the average council tax per dwelling is ranged from £1,126 in Gloucester to £1,484 in Cotswold (South West £1,272, England £1,196).
  • Average Band D council tax ranged from £1,434 in Tewkesbury to £1532 in Stroud (South West £1,500, England £1,439).
  • 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 and Economy

Gross Annual Pay
  • Median gross full-time annual pay among Gloucestershire residents is £25,539, an increase of 1.4% on 2010. This is higher than the median for South West (£24,922), but lower than England (£26,615).
  • The equivalent pay figure for all those working in Gloucestershire is £24,918, illustrating a tendency for residents to commute to other areas for higher paid work.
  • Median gross full-time annual pay for Gloucestershire resident men is 27% higher than women. In the South West men’s pay is 29% higher and in England 25% higher.
  • At district level, median earnings range from £24,414 in Cotswold to £28,628 in Tewkesbury.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings (ASHE) 2011

Local Enterprise Zones (LEPs)
  • Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) 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.
  • Gloucestershire County forms the basis of a single LEP.

Productivity (GVA)
  • In 2009 Gloucestershire’s Gross Value Added (GVA) per head was £19,438, the 5th highest of the 12 NUTS3 areas in the South West. The South West value was £18,184, England £20,498.
  • Between 2008 and 2009 there was a decrease in Gloucestershire’s GVA per head, of -2.3% (South West -2.3%, England -2.2%).
  • Over the last 10 years GVA per head in Gloucestershire has increased by 35.7% (South West 43.2%, England 44.3%).

ONS GVA per Head, Dec 2011

Enterprise Survival Rate
  • At the end of 2010, Gloucestershire had 25,815 VAT/PAYE registered businesses.
  • During 2010 there was a fall in the number of VAT registered businesses in Gloucestershire, of -0.6% (South West -2.1%, England -1.9%).
  • The 3-year survival rate of enterprises that started in 2007 in Gloucestershire is 67.1% (South West 65.9%, England: 62.9%). The survival rate has decreased from 68.9% in 2006.
  • Gloucestershire had 2,300 new businesses in 2010, an increase of 2.4% from 2009 (South West  0.6%, England  0.7%).

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

Employment

  • Gloucestershire’s working age employment rate is higher than the England and South West rates. It has fallen since the previous reporting period.

% of working age population

Jan 09 – Dec 09

Jan 10 – Dec 10

% point change

Gloucestershire

75.9

75.2

-0.7

South West

74.2

73.6

-0.6

England

70.9

70.4

-0.5

  • The latest unemployment rate for Gloucestershire is 5.5% of the economically active 16+ population (South West 6.0%, England 7.6%).
  • Gloucestershire’s claimant count (graph below) rate is higher than a year ago, but is below the rate for England and very close to the South West rate.
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Total Claimants as Percentage of Working Age Population
Gloucestershire Local Profile Total Claimants as 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 Gloucestershire is in public administration, defence, education and health (30.1%) followed by manufacturing and wholesale and retail (26.8%).

[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Employment by Sector
Gloucestershire Local Profile Employment by Sector
Business Register and Employment Survey 2010 (available via NOMIS)

Education and Skills

School Qualifications
  • Results for 2010/11 show 62.5% of pupils in the Gloucestershire Local Education Authority (LEA) achieved 5+ GCSEs or equivalent at Grade A*-C including English & Maths by the end of Key Stage 4. This was higher than the rate for both the South West (57.5%) and England (58.3%) and the second highest for an LEA in the South West (after Bath and North East Somerset).
  • Gloucestershire LEA’s latest Key Stage 2 pass rates for English and Maths were both above the England average. The pass rate for English was joint highest in the South West.
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile School Qualifications
Gloucestershire Local Profile 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
  • The percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence by pupils in Gloucestershire District’s primary schools was lower than both the South West and England, apart from Gloucester where the rate was higher, and the second highest (after Bristol) for any district or unitary authority ni the South West.
  • The percentage in Gloucestershire District’s secondary schools ranged from 0.60% in Cotswold to 1.27% in Gloucester.

% half days missed,

unauthorised absence

Maintained

primary schools

Maintained

secondary schools

Cheltenham

0.35

0.82

Cotswold

0.27

0.60

Forest of Dean

0.34

1.04

Gloucester

0.76

1.27

Stroud

0.27

0.80

Tewkesbury

0.44

1.07

South West

0.49

1.10

England

0.67

1.38

DfE Pupil Absence in Schools in England 2009/10

Workforce Qualifications
  • 7.5% of Gloucestershire’s workforce hold no qualifications, lower than both the South West (11.1%) and England (8.4%).
  • 36.9% of Poole’s workforce are qualified to NVQ4 or above, higher than the South West (31.5%) and England (31.1%).
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Highest Qualification
Gloucestershire Local Profile Highest Qualification
ONS Annual Population Survey year ending Dec 2010

Health

Life Expectancy
  • Male life expectancy in Gloucestershire is 79.3 years (South West 79.2, England 78.3). This ranged from 77.8 in Gloucester to 80.2 for both Cheltenham and Cotswold Districts.
  • Female life expectancy is 83.2 years (South West 83.3, England 82.3). This ranged from 82.2 in Gloucester to 83.9 in Cheltenham.
  • Gloucestershire had the 15th (for men) and 13th (for women) longest life expectancies out of 34 county level authorities in England.

ONS Life Expectancy at Birth 3-year rolling average 2007-09

Infant Mortality
  • Gloucestershire has a lower infant mortality rate than the rate for both the South West and England.
  • In recent years the trend has been for a fall in the rate of infant mortality in Gloucestershire. 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

Gloucestershire

4.5

4.6

4.0

3.9

South West

4.4

4.2

4.1

4.0

England

5.0

4.9

4.8

4.7

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

Teenage Conceptions
  • Gloucestershire’s teenage conception rate is lower than the rate for both the South West and England, and is the 3rd lowest for any county or unitary in the South West.
  • The rate has steadily reduced over the last three reporting periods, in line with the England rates.

Conception rates per 1000 women aged 15-17

3-year rolling averages

2001-03

2004-06

2007-09

Gloucestershire

35.0

29.8

29.0

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 Managem’t score*

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Good

Good

2gether NHS Foundation Trust (mental health)

Excellent

Excellent

Gloucestershire PCT

Fair

Good

Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Weak

Fair

 *excellent, good, fair, or weak

  • Of the 12 Ambulance Services in England, Great Western had the 4th lowest response rate for 8 minute response times and 2nd lowest rate for 19 minute response times in 2010/11. Both rates have improved from the previous year.

Ambulance response

time target – Category A

Great Western

England target

 Arrive within 8 minutes

74.3%

>75%

 Arrive within 19 minutes

95.1%

>95%

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

Crime

  • In 2010/11, Gloucestershire had the 7th highest rate of overall crime among the 16 South West county and unitary authorities (34.1 offences per 1,000 population: South West average 33.8: England and Wales 41.3).
  • Cheltenham (52.8) and Gloucester (51.1) had the 3rd and 4th highest overall crime rates among the South West unitary and district authorities (behind Bristol and Bournemouth)
  • From 2009/10 to 2010/11, Gloucestershire saw a drop in overall crime from 35.8 offences per 1,000 population. This included drops in the rates for violence against the person and sexual offences, but rises in the rates for burglary and robbery.
  • In 2008/09 Gloucestershire Police ranked 17th out of all 38 English force areas for local people having confidence in police and local councils dealing with issues (53.1% strongly agree/tend to agree: England and Wales average was 52.7%).
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Offences per 1000 population
Gloucestershire Local Profile Offences per 1000 population
* 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

Indices of Multiple Deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2010
  • In the IMD 2010, 27 (7%) of Gloucestershire’s 367 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are ranked in the most deprived 20% in England.
  • 18 of these LSOAs are in Gloucester (out of 78 in total), with eight in Cheltenham and one in Tewkesbury.
  • No LSOA in Cotswold, Forest of Dean or Stroud is ranked within the most deprived 20%.
  • Eight of the county’s LSOAs are within the most deprived 10% in England (five in Gloucester and three in Cheltenham).

[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile IMD 2010
Gloucestershire Local Profile IMD 2010

Housing

House Prices
  • The median house price in Gloucestershire in Q1 of 2011 was £173,750, 4% lower than the South West median (£181,500) and less than 1% lower than the England median (£175,000).
  • Within the county, the median ranges from £130,000 in Gloucester, to £249,100 in Cotswold, the highest for a district in the South West.
  • Gloucestershire’s median house price was 4% lower than the previous quarter and 5% lower than in Q1 of 2010.
[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Median House Prices
Gloucestershire Local Profile Median House Prices
House Prices: DCLG Table 582

Affordability
  • Affordability ratios are calculated as house price divided by annual workplace-based earnings.
  • Using median house prices and earnings in 2010 gives a median affordability ratio in Gloucestershire of 7.5 (South West 7.9, England 7.0).  In the county’s districts, this ratio ranges from 5.8 in Gloucester to 12.8 in Cotswold.
  • The lower quartile (LQ) ratio based on lower quartile house prices and earnings better reflects the first time buyers’ market.  Gloucestershire’s LQ ratio is 7.5 (South West 8.2, England 6.7). Amongst the districts, LQ ratios range from 6.4 in Gloucester to 11.4 in Cotswold.

DCLG Tables 576 and 577

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation
  • In the financial year of 2010/11, Gloucestershire accepted 285 households (1.1 per 1,000) as being homeless and in priority need (SW: 1.5, England: 2.0). Gloucestershire had 138 households in temporary accommodation, 33 of which were in bed and breakfast accommodation.
  • Among Gloucestershire Districts, the rates of accepted homelessness ranged from 0.1 per 1,000 households in Stroud to 2.2 in Gloucester.
  • In the same year in Gloucestershire there were a total of 1,752 households where positive action was successful in preventing or relieving homelessness (7.0 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

Planning and Land Use

Planning Decisions
  • In the year ending March 2011, the district planning authorities within Gloucestershire made decisions on 7,266 planning applications, 188 of which were for major developments.
  • The largest total number of decisions was made by Cotswold (1,667). Gloucester made the most major development decisions (36).
  • 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

Cheltenham

70

77

91

Cotswold

50

64

77

Forest of Dean

81

73

88

Gloucester

67

89

95

Stroud

47

69

76

Tewkesbury

84

69

83

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, the percentage of new dwellings built on previously developed land ranged from 38% in in Tewkesbury to 85% in Cheltenham (South West 66%, England 77%).
  • Only Cotswold had a lower proportion than in 2003-06 (from 61% to 59%).
  • In 2007-10, the density of new dwellings built per hectare ranged from 22 in Cotswold to 57 in Cheltenham (South West 38, England 43). All districts apart from Stroud had a lower density compared to 2003-06.

CLG Land Use Change in England to 2010

Environment

  • The South West Observatory and the Environment Agency have produced a series of Environment Profiles for local authorities in the South West, including Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire districts. Find out more. 

Environmental Designations
  • The Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is mostly in Gloucestershire, and the county also includes parts of the Wye Valley and Malvern Hills AONBs.
  • There are four National Nature Reserves in Gloucestershire, covering 513Ha.

Green Belt
  • 7,490 hectares in the county are designated as Green Belt, the majority of which is in Tewkesbury district.  Gloucestershire has just under 7% of the SW total.

CLG Local Planning Authority Green Belt Statistics 2009/10

Transport

Road Casualties
  • In 2010, there were 258 road casualties per 100,000 people in Gloucestershire, lower than the rate for the South West (310) and England (355). This was the second lowest rate for any county or unitary authority in the South West.
  • 12.2% of these casualties resulted in death or serious injury, higher than the South West and England rates (both 11.5%).

DfT Road Casualties Great Britain 2010

Gloucestershire Airport
  • Gloucestershire Airport is situated between Gloucester and Cheltenham, in Tewkesbury Borough.
  • In 2010, Gloucestershire Airport handled just 16,238 passengers, the smallest airport in the South West.
  • Passenger numbers decreased by almost 20% when compared to 2009 (South West -1.9%, England -3.4%).

Gloucestershire Airport website

Travel to Work
  • A higher proportion of people drive a motor vehicle to work in Gloucestershire than in either the South West or England.

2001 Census

[ Zoom ]
Gloucestershire Local Profile Means of Travel to Work
Gloucestershire Local Profile Means of Travel to Work

Download Graphs & Charts

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

Inform Gloucestershire (via Gloucestershire County Council)

Economy & Skills

Learn more about the Gloucestershire LEP Economic Profile

Social

Download APHO's Gloucestershire Health Profile

Download SWO's IMD 2010 Gloucestershire Report

Infrastructure & Environment

Download SWO's Environment Profile for Gloucestershire

To download charts and graphs from this report see below.