Communities & Places (UKSPF)
Information about Communities and Places includes data on housing, crime, quality of life, place vibrancy, connectivity and interactions between places.
in the North East compared to the rest of the country.
experienced in the North East than the rest of England (excluding London).
redistribute income across the North East.
About this investment theme
The focus for this investment theme is to:
- Strengthening our social fabric and fostering a sense of local pride and belonging, through investment in activities that enhance physical, cultural and social ties and amenities, such as community infrastructure and local green space, and community-led projects
- Build resilient and safe neighbourhoods, through investment in quality places that people want to live, work, play and learn in, through targeted improvements to the built environment and innovative approaches to crime prevention
Housing
Housing is relatively affordable in the North East LEP area, compared to England as a whole. In the latest data (for 2020/21) the number of new houses started in the North East was higher than the number completed. Most of the new houses were private enterprise dwellings. In 2020, the North East had a higher proportion of households in fuel poverty than nationally.
Median house price ratio, 2021, North East local authority areas
Source: House price to workplace-based earnings ratio, Office for National Statistics
This analysis compares the median house price sale to the median gross annual earnings recorded by workplace.
Within the North East, housing was most affordable in 2021 in County Durham and Sunderland, where the median house price was less than five times median full-time annual pay in both cases. Housing was least affordable in the Northumberland and North Tyneside where the ratios were both more than 6.5.
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Median house price ratio, 2014 to 2021, North East LEP area, England
Source: House price to workplace-based earnings ratio, Office for National Statistics
This analysis compares the median house price sale to the median gross annual earnings recorded by workplace.
Housing is relatively affordable in the North East LEP area, compared to England as a whole. In 2021, the North East median house price was about 5.6 times the median full-time annual pay. In England excluding London the ratio was 9.1.
North East house prices increased at a faster rate than earnings in 2021 leading to an increase in the ratio of house prices to earnings after several years of little change.
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Ratio of new homes started to new homes completed, 2016 to 2021, North East LEP area, England
Source: DLUHC live table 255 Housebuilding: permanent dwellings started and completed, by LEP area (latest update 10 Mar 2022, next update Jul 2022)
Data information: North East LEP area, regional and national data.
The number of new houses started in the North East LEP area in 2020/21 was higher than the number completed, in contrast to the previous two years where the reverse was true. This was highlighted by the North East ratio of starts to completions increasing to more than 1 in the latest year. The latest North East ratio was higher than the England equivalent.
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New homes by tenure (%), 2020/21, North East local authority areas
Source: Permanent dwellings started and completed, by tenure and district (Table 253)
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
About 87% of North East new homes started in 2020/21 were private enterprise dwelings, compared to 80% in England excluding London. The remainder were mainly housing association dwellings. The percentage that were private within the North East ranged from 75% in Gateshead to 95% in South Tyneside.
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Fuel poverty, % of households, 2020, North East local authority areas
Source: Sub-regional fuel poverty data 2020 (BEIS)
Fuel poverty is measured using the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric. In 2020 (the latest available Government data), about 14.5% of North East households were in fuel poverty by this measure, compared to 13.5% in England excluding London. Within the North East, the proportion was highest in Newcastle (16.8%).
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Crime
The North East recorded crime rate in 2021 was higher than in England excluding London. This was due to higher rates of criminal damage and arson and of public order offences.
Recorded crime rates by type, y/e Dec 2021, North East LEP area, England excluding London
Source: Crime statistics England and Wales, Year end Dec 2021, Office for National statistics
Rates of robbery, weapons offences and homicide are excluded from the chart as they are less than 1 per 1,000 population. Recorded crime excludes fraud offences.
In 2021, the North East recorded crime rate was higher than in England excluding London. In both areas, violent crime was the offence group that made up the highest percentage of offences and they had almost identical violent crime rates.
Within violent crime, the North East had higher rates of violence with injury and of stalking and harassment than nationally.
The higher overall North East crime rate was driven by particularly high rates of criminal damage and arson and of public order offences. The difference in the recorded crime rates was equivalent to more than 4,800 additional offences in the North East.
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Northumbria Police transport consultation 2022
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner undertook a transport consultation in January 2022 to understand the issues those who travel on public transport face, the areas in which they feel unsafe and the preventative measures that could be introduced to improve their feeling of safety. 524 responses were collected in total.
Metro was the most common mode of transport in terms of the daily users surveyed. |
There were more daily male users on the metro than females (63% vs 29%), and the most common age group was those aged 35-44. |
Metro was the most common mode for daily users aged 18 to 54, but for those aged 55 to 74 it was bus. |
People travelled within Newcastle and North Tyneside on public transport more than within other local authorities. |
The average ranking of safety when travelling on public transport was 5.4/10. This varied by age and location. There was little variation by gender. |
Northumberland was scored as the safest local authority, whilst South Tyneside was scored as the least safe. |
Anti-socil behaviour (ASB), alcohol related disorder and intimidating groups or passengers were the incidents most experienced by transport users. |
Users generally found reporting of incidents more difficult than easy, and tended to do this in person or via phone call. Over half of users were not satisfied with outcome of their most recent report. |
Respondents felt strongly that ASB has increased in wider society, as well as on the Metro. Ferry users were the only ones who thought ASB had decreased.
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Users felt strongly towards the best preventative measures being ‘more staff available’ and ‘increased presence on transport’ – this was consistent across all genders & age groups. |
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Quality of life
In the North East, low levels of life satisfaction are more prevalent than nationally according to the latest data. Most North East local authority areas have higher premature mortality rates and a higher percentage of the small areas are classified as deprived than nationally. The North East also has a relatively high percentage of children in low income families.
Premature mortality rate (under-75) from all causes, 2012-2020, North East local authority areas
Source: Local Authority Health Profiles, Fingertips Public Health Data, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
Note: Local authority mortality rates are for three-year periods. The under-75 mortality rate is used to compare premature mortality in different areas. There is no published rate for the North East LEP area.
The under-75 (premature) mortality rate for all causes was higher than the England equivalent in all North East local authority areas except Northumberland in the 2018-2020 three-year period.
It was highest in South Tyneside, and this was one of three North East areas where the rate particularly increased from the previous three-year period, along with Sunderland and County Durham.
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Life satisfaction score (%), 2021, North East local authority areas
Source: Personal well-being estimates by Local Authority (2021), Office for National Statistics
All but one North East local authority area had a higher percentage of people with a low level of life satisfaction than nationally (6.1%) in 2021, with Gateshead (8.0%) having the highest and Northumberland (5.9%) the lowest.
In all seven areas, however, the vast majority of people had high or very high life satisfaction, ranging from 72% in Gateshead to 78% in Northumberland.
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Indices of deprivation 2019 by domain, % of areas within the most deprived deciles, North East LEP areas
Source: Indices of Deprivation 2019, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Note: The indices rank England's 32,844 Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) from most deprived to least deprived in seven domains of deprivation and in an overall index of multiple deprivation. This chart shows how the percentage of North East LSOAs that are within the most deprived 10% or decile in England for each domain.
According to the 2019 index of multiple deprivation, almost 17% of North East small areas are within the most deprived 10% in England.
This level of overall deprivation is particularly driven by high levels of deprivation relating to health and disability and of employment-related deprivation. For these two domains, over 26% and almost 25% of North East small areas, respectively, are within England's most deprived 10%.
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Index of multiple deprivation 2019, % of areas within the most deprived two deciles, North East local authority areas
Source: Indices of Deprivation 2019, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Note: The indices rank England's 32,844 Lower layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) from most deprived to least deprived in seven domains of deprivation and in an overall index of multiple deprivation (IMD). This chart shows the percentage of LSOAs in each North East local authority that are within the most deprived two deciles in England within the IMD.
Newcastle (almost 26%) has the highest proportion of small areas within the most deprived 10% in England, according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Both South Tyneside and Sunderland also have well over 20% of small areas in the most deprived decile.
Using a broader measure, South Tyneside has 45% of small areas within the deprived fifth of such areas nationally, the highest proportion within the North East.
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Children in low-income families (%), 2015 to 2021, North East LEP area, England excluding London
Source: Children in low income families, local area statistics 2014 to 2021, Department for Work and Pensions
Note: This charts shows estimates of the percentage of children aged under 16 in relative low income families
In 2020/21, there was a much higher percentage of children in low income families in the North East (28.8%) than in England excluding London (18.9%).
The North East percentage had increased by 6.4 percentage points since 2018/19, while the England excluding London equivalent was only 0.6 percentage points higher than two years earlier.
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Children in low-income families (%), 2021, North East local authority areas
Source: Children in low income families, local area statistics 2014 to 2021, Department for Work and Pensions
Note: This charts shows estimates of the percentage of children aged under 16 in relative low income families
Newcastle (32.2%) had the highest proportion of children in low-income families among North East local authority areas in 2020/21. All seven North East areas had proportions that were at least five percentage points higher than the England excluding London equivalent (18.9%).
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North East working age households were more likely to include no workers than nationally, according to the latest data. A recent survey of North East residents suggested that the majority were intending to cut down on leisure activities and car journeys in the next few months. In general, people in the North East are better served by public green spaces than nationally.
Nexus Insight Panel Mar/Apr 2022
![](/thumbnails/0/167/111/nexus-survey-2022-slide01.jpg)
source: Nexus Insight Panel, Cost of Living focus (Mar/Apr 2022)
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Workless households (%), Jan-Dec 2020, North East local authority areas
Source: Annual Population Survey - households by combined economic activity status, Office for National Statistics via Nomis
Note: Estimates are for only those households that include at least one person aged 16 to 64.
In 2020, just over 17% working age households in the North East LEP area had no one in employment within them. This was a higher percentage than in England excluding London (just over 13%).
The workless households rate within the North East varied greatly. It was highest in South Tyneside (just over 23%) and lowest in North Tyneside (13%).
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Nexus Insight Panel Mar/Apr 2022, further comments
![](/thumbnails/0/166/114/nexus-survey-2022-slide02.jpg)
source: Nexus Insight Panel, Cost of Living focus (Mar/Apr 2022)
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Access to public green spaces, median distance, 2020, North East local authorities
Source: Access to public green space in Great Britain, Office for National Statistics
Note: This measures the median distance within the area to any parks, public gardens, and playing fields. ONS also publish an analysis of access to urban public green spaces.
In most five of the seven North East local authority areas there is better than average access to the nearest public green space, with the median distance lower than the England median (318m).
The exceptions are Northumberland (481m) and County Durham (347m), while the North East areas with the best access by this measure are Gateshead (224m) and Newcastle (231m).
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Access to public green spaces, average population per green space, 2020, North East local authorities
Source: Access to public green space in Great Britain, Office for National Statistics
Note: This measures the average population per park, public garden or playing field. ONS also publish an analysis of access to urban public green spaces.
In terms of the average population per public green space, the North East is well served, just under 5,800 per green space, compared to England's 9,100.
Within the North East, by this measure, Gateshead is best served by green spaces (less than 4,600 per green space), with Sunderland least served (8,900).
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Place vibrancy
In normal, non-holiday, weeks in June 2022, North East visits to retail and recreation locations were still almost 7% below pre-Covid levels, with workplace visits about 15% lower. The initial impact of Covid-19 on retail and recreation visits had been greatest in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Workplace visit index, weekly average since Feb 2020, North East LEP area
Source: COVID-19 Community Report [Google, up to and including 14 Oct 2022]
Data information: The number of workplace visits for a specific day is expressed as an index compared to average visits for that day during the first five weeks of 2020. The chart includes weekly index figures but only monthly labels to ensure dates are easier to read. The weekly average is calculated for the seven days up to and including Friday.
In the North East LEP area, the immediate impact of Covid-19 was a fall of more than 65% in visits to workplaces. Levels of visits of this type have steadily increased since then but were still 15% below pre-Covid levels in non-holiday weeks in June 2022.
Levels of the visits of this type have been lower during school holiday periods and in weeks containing bank holidays and were 35% below the levels of early 2020 in the 2022 jubilee double bank holiday week in June.
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Retail and recreation visit index, weekly average since Feb 2020, North East LEP area
Source: COVID-19 Community Report [Google, up to and including 14 Oct 2022]
Data information: The number of retail and recreation visits for a specific day is expressed as an index compared to average visits for that day during the first five weeks of 2020. The chart includes weekly index figures but only monthly labels to ensure dates are easier to read. The weekly average is calculated for the seven days up to and including Friday.
The immediate impact of Covid-19 was a fall of about 75% in visits to North East retail and recreation locations (excluding supermarkets). Levels of visits of this type have steadily increased since then but were still about 7% below pre-Covid levels in non-holiday weeks in June 2022.
Levels of the visits of this type tend to be higher during school holiday periods and in weeks containing bank holidays. However, they were only slightly above the early 2020 level during the June 2022 Jubilee double bank holiday.
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Retail and recreation visit index, weekly average since Feb 2020, North East local authority areas
Source: COVID-19 Community Report [Google, up to and including 14 Oct 2022]
Data information: The number of retail and recreation visits for a specific day is expressed as an index compared to average visits for that day during the first five weeks of 2020. The chart includes weekly index figures but only monthly labels to ensure dates are easier to read. The weekly average is calculated for the seven days up to and including Friday. Data for specific local authorities timelines can be removed from and re-added to the display by clicking on the key.
Patterns of changes since 2020 in visits numbers to retail and recreation locations have been similar across the seven North East local authority areas.
The initial impact of Covid-19 on such visits was greatest in Newcastle and Gateshead and the index has shown that the impact has been largest in the former in most weeks since.
The index compares visit numbers with winter levels in early 2020 so areas such as Northumberland, with seasonal tourist attractions, have higher index values in holiday periods.
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Participation in culture
Within the North East, engagement in arts and culture varied by type and local authority area, according to the latest data. It was generally highest in Newcastle and North Tyneside. About 5,000 people were employed in the North East cultural sector in 2020.
Culture Engagement 2017/18, North East local authority areas
Source: Sport England Active lives survey 2017/18
The latest available local data for arts and culture engagement is from a 2017/18 survey. Within the North East, the percentage of respondents attending arts and culture events was highest in Newcastle and North Tyneside.
Newcastle also had the highest proportion of people attending museums or galleries and the highest percentage doing creative activities. North Tyneside respondents were most likely to use public library services.
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Culture employment by sub-sector, 2020, North East LEP area
Source: Business register and employment survey, Office for National Statistics via Nomis
Note: The definition for Arts and Culture is an extended version of that used in ‘Contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy’ CEBR 2020
In total, 5,000 individuals were employed in the cultural sector across the North East LEP area in 2020 (about 1% of total employment). This included 900 employed in library activities, 900 in museum activities and 800 in performing arts.
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Interactions between places
Every ten years, the Census results include detailed statistics about the flow of commuters between local authority areas. In 2011 the pattern was complex. Flows into Newcastle were particularly large but there were significant commuting flows into and out of all seven North East local authority areas.
Commuting flows between North East local authority areas, 2011
![](/thumbnails/0/132/70/the-north-east-lep-is-connected-by-commuting-flows-across-the-region-especially-flows-into-newcastle-upon-tyne.jpg)
Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics
In 2011 there were about 769,000 commuting workers who lived and/or worked in the North East LEP area. This excludes people working at or from home, with no fixed place of work and those working offshore or overseas.
Within the North East, the largest cross-boundary flow was almost 25,000 from North Tyneside to Newcastle. There were also flows of more than 19,000 from both Northumberland and Gateshead into Newcastle.
Apart from into Newcastle, the largest flow was of almost 16,000 from County Durham to Sunderland and there were other flows of over 10,000 from both Northumberland and Newcastle into North Tyneside and from County Durham to Gateshead.
In addition, almost 25,000 County Durham residents commuted to a workplace outside of the North East LEP area, while almost 15,000 of workers in County Durham commuted into the North East.
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Resident commuting workers by workplace (%) 2011, North East local authority areas
![](/thumbnails/0/168/115/commuting-flow-table-2011.png)
Source: 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics
In 2011, between a third and more than a half of commuting workers from each of the seven North East local authority areas crossed into another local authority area to work.
Newcastle was the destination of about 30% of commuting workers resident in North Tyneside, about 25% of those from Gateshead and, respectively, 16% and 12% from Northumberland and South Tyneside. In the opposite direction, about 11% of Newcastle commuters made the journey to North Tyneside. Outside of Newcastle, about 16% of South Tyneside's commuters journeyed to Sunderland and about 13% of County Durham's journeyed to a workplace outside of the North East LEP area.
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Travel to work areas in the North East LEP area (2011 Census-based)
![](/thumbnails/0/133/71/travel-to-work-areas-in-the-north-east-lep-cross-many-local-authority-boundaries.jpg)
Source: Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs), Open Geography portal, Office for National Statistics
The 2011 data resulted in the construction of travel to work areas (TTWAs), where at least area's resident workforce work in the area and at least 75% of the people who work in the area are residents.
The Newcastle TTWA is the largest in the North East LEP in population terms, and covers all of the Newcastle, North Tyneside and Gateshead local authority areas, as well as substantial portions of Northumberland, South Tyneside and County Durham.
The Sunderland TTWA covers all of the Sunderland local authority area, a significant portion of South Tyneside and most of the coastal areas of County Durham.
Northumberland is divided into three TTWAs in addition to Newcastle: Blyth and Ashington, Berwick and Hexham. County Durham is divided into three TTWAs in addition to Newcastle and Sunderland: a large area centred on the city of Durham and Bishop Auckland and parts of Darlington and Hartlepool TTWAs.
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Travel to work areas by level of qualification, North East LEP area, 2011 Census-based
![Travel to work areas are larger for workers with higher qualifications](/thumbnails/0/170/116/ttwa-by-qualification-level-2011-based.jpg)
Source: Office for National Statistics experimental data
Highly skilled workers commute further across the North East LEP than workers with lower qualification levels. experimental mapping of Census data has created many more North East TTWAs for the latter than the former.
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Differences in workplace and residence-based pay highlight that many higher paid workers commute into Newcastle and Sunderland city centres from other areas. Most of the North East has good public transport access to major employment centres but parts of Northumberland and County Durham are exceptions.
Workplace and residence-based employee annual pay difference (£000), 2020, North East constituencies
![](/thumbnails/0/134/72/difference-between-median-workplace-and-residential-annual-income-000s-2020-.jpg)
Source: Annual survey of hours and earnings (ONS), Full-time employees
Map shows (in £000s) how larger or smaller the median full-time annual income of employees living in a constituency is than the equivalents for employees working there.
Hexham, North Durham and Tynemouth are the North East constituencies where the positive gap between residence-based pay and workplace pay was highest in the latest data, highlighting areas where many higher-paid workers out-commute.
Newcastle upon Tyne Central has the highest negative gap, highlighting the large inflow of higher-paid commuters into the city centre.
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Annual full-time employee pay, workplace and residential, 2021, North East local authority areas
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics
Note: Data relates to gross annual full-time employee pay.
In areas with higher residence-based pay than workforce pay, out-commuters are, on the whole, higher paid than workers who do not leave the area. Where the reverse is true, in-commuters from other areas are, on average, in higher paid work than workers who are resident in the area.
In the North East, only Newcastle and Sunderland have higher annual workforce pay than residence pay, highlighting the effects of in-commuting. Newcastle has the highest annual pay in both instances, while Sunderland's residence-based pay is the lowest of the seven areas but the workplace pay is the fourth highest.
The biggest gaps between resident and workplace pay were in South Tyneside, County Durham and North Tyneside in 2021.
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Travel time by public transport to major employment centres, median, 2019, North East local authority areas
Source: Journey time statistics (table JTS0401), England, Department for Transport
Note: Major employment centres are defined as areas with over 5000 employments.
On average, in 2019 workers in most local authority areas in the North East had quicker access to major employment centres by public transport than the England average. In particular, the median time taken for such journeys in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland was about a third of the England equivalent.
The median time in Northumberland was the slowest in the North East and was similar to the England figure. County Durham and South Tyneside also had noticeably slower median times than the other four North East local authority areas.
The median times at local authority level mask differences between smaller areas, particularly in Northumberland and County Durham which both include some remote rural locations.
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Major employment centres within 30 minutes by public transport, 2019, North East local authority areas
Source: Journey time statistics (table JTS0401), England, Department for Transport
Note: Major employment centres are defined as areas with over 5,000 employments. The maximum number of major employment centres is 10.
On average, in 2019 the number of major employment centres accessible by public transport within 30 minutes was higher than the England average in all seven North local authority areas. In Newcastle, North Tyneside and Gateshead the average total was close to the maximum (10).
The County Durham and, particularly, Northumberland averages were lower than those in the Tyne and Wear area but still higher than the national equivalent.
The local authority level averages mask differences between small areas, with the North East having some remote rural smaller settlements in Northumberland and County Durham.
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Major employment centres within 30 minutes by public transport, 2019, North East map
![](/thumbnails/0/172/117/major-employment-centres-2019-nelep-area.jpg)
Source: Travel time statistics, Department for Transport
Public transport connects a large portion of the North East LEP’s population to major employment centres. 840,000 working age residents have access to eight to ten major employment centres within 30 minutes, 67% of the total working age population.
These connections are strongest in the metropolitan boroughs of Tyne and Wear although the coastal area of Sunderland and South Tyneside are slightly less well connected.
Connections to major employment centres are generally weaker in Northumberland and County Durham. Only 15% of the working age population has access to eight to ten major employment centres within 30 minutess via public transport in Northumberland and only 36% in County Durham.
About 190,000 residents in the North East LEP have access to fewer than four major employment centres within 30 mins by public transport (15% of the total working age population).
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Connectivity
The North East LEP area has a higher rate of electric vehicle charging points per head than England excluding London. The area has lower percentages of homes with gigabit capable broadband than nationally and the same is true for full-fibre broadband availability.
Electric vehicle charging points in the North East, 2020
![](/thumbnails/0/137/74/electric-vehicle-charging-points-in-the-north-east-lep-2020-.jpg)
Source: National Chargepoint Registry
The North East contains some of the most remote areas in England but, as this map shows, there are electric vehicle charging points in most rural areas as well as in the more heavily populated area towards the South East of the region.
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Electric vehicle charging devices per 100,000 people, North East local authority areas
In April 2022, the North East LEP area had a higher rate of electric vehicle charging points per head than England excluding London. This was true for rapid charging devices and for all devices.
Within the North East, the rates for all charging devices were highest in Northumberland and Sunderland. For rapid charging devices the rate was much higher in Northumberland than in any other North East local authority area.
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Broadband coverage, residential 2021, North East local authority areas
Source: Connected Nations 2021, Ofcom
In 2021, just over 96% of North East residences had superfast broadband, a similar percentage to the England equivalent. The North East proportion of residences with gigabit-capable broadband (about 37%) was lower than for England (46%), as was the percentage with full-fibre coverage (24% compare with 27%).
Within the North East, superfast broadband coverage was largest in North Tyneside (over 99%) and lowest in Northumberland (just over 93%). The percentage with gigabit-capable broadband ranged from 6.5% in Gateshead to almost 78% in South Tyneside. The percentage with full-fibre coverage ranged from 1.8% in South Tyneside to 39% in County Durham.
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Evidence review on 'what works'
In support of the development of the regional UKSPF evidence base, we have compiled a list of policy evaluations and evidence reviews aligned with the UKSPF investment themes. This summary can be found here.
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