Hull and Bradford among cities '˜struggling most' despite Northern Powerhouse pledge

Social research charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has urged Government to help areas outside the UK’s eight core cities share in the benefits of investment and devolution after research revealed 10 of the country’s top 12 struggling cities are in the North.

No cities from southern areas feature in the top 24 of a table drawn up from data including unemployment rates, numbers of highly qualified workers, types of jobs and migration rates.

Hull ranked fifth on the list, which was headed by Rochdale, followed by Burnley, Bolton and Blackburn. Grimsby was sixth and Bradford ninth.

Ahead of next month’s Budget, the ‘Uneven growth: tackling city decline’ report by researchers at Newcastle University for the JRF suggests the Treasury could create financial incentives for councils in a bid to tackle unemployment.

Josh Stott, policy and research manager at the JRF, said: “Britain has the potential to become a more prosperous country, with George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse playing a key role in rebalancing the economy.

“But it must reach all parts of the North to ensure prosperity is shared. To rebalance the economy and ensure local growth provides opportunity for all households, the Treasury needs to ensure areas outside of core cities are not left behind.

“City leaders, with a new suite of powers at their disposal, must also show leadership to do their part to ensure growth and prosperity is shared by all.”

The report says there are three types of cities – core cities, those ‘overshadowed’ by neighbouring core cities and ‘freestanding’ smaller core cities. Bradford is labelled as a city overshadowed by Leeds, which is a sentiment Bradford Council leader Coun David Green feels is wide of the mark.

“Clearly the Government’s core city agenda is one that I think has historically been one that has sucked Government attention towards a small number of cities but certainly in West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds city region we have all worked extremely closely together to make sure the benefits of any economic progress made anywhere are available to citizens right across the region,” he said.

“What we have been working towards as a region is a more collective approach than perhaps the Government has been pursuing.”

Coun Green explained that Bradford has been “working to address its challenges” through establishing industrial centres, funding the multimillion pound ‘Get Bradford Working’ employment and skills scheme and investing in city centre growth.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “So far we have secured a host of devolution deals, and invested in transport, science and the arts across the region, backed by more than £4billion of new funding from central Government.”