Report paints picture of Manchester’s progress

The fourth edition of a comprehensive report analysing the progress Manchester is making towards the vision of a healthier, wealthier and happier city is published today.

Manchester's State of the City Report is an annual headline document measuring the city's current performance. The report shows that although the economic downturn has posed many challenges, there is considerable evidence that the city is well-placed to benefit from the recovery.

Evidence from the 114-page report is used to help city leaders, both from the City Council and partner agencies, to understand the priorities for the future.

The number of people living in Manchester continues to rise, with the city firmly on course for its 2015 population target of 480,000.

Manchester has established itself in recent decades as the economic powerhouse of the North West. Gross Value Added (GVA), a measurement used by economists to assess the value of goods and services produced in an area, nearly doubled for Greater Manchester South (which covers Manchester, Trafford, Stockport, Tameside and Salford) from £11,705 per person in 1995 to £22,172 per person in 2007. This compares favourably with the national average GVA of just over £20,000 per person. The number of businesses in the city centre also increased by almost 1,400 between 1998 and 2008, although it should be noted that the most recent figures pre-date the global economic downturn.

Tourism continues to thrive with more than seven million visitors pumping £1.2 billion into the city's economy in 2008/09.

Transport improvements mean that more than two-thirds of journeys into the city centre are not made by car. Some 69.4 per cent of trips in 2010 were made by bus, tram, train, bike or on foot compared with 62.7 per cent in 2005.

Crime figures continue to fall. Serious acquisitive crime (which includes burglary and car theft) fell by almost a fifth in 2009/10 with more than 4,000 fewer victims of crime across the city, although combatting crime remains a high priority.

Measurements of people's feelings about living in the city based on a series of telephone surveys are also encouraging. For example, only five per cent described themselves as dissatisfied with their lives and 89 per cent said people from different backgrounds get on well in their local area.

But serious challenges remain. For instance, while life expectancy in Manchester has improved - with male life expectancy in Manchester up from 70.8 years in 1999-2001 to 73.8 years in 2006-2008 - male life expectancy is still the second worst in England while for women it is the fourth worst.

Not enough Manchester residents have the skills to enable them to reach their full potential in employment - more than a fifth have no qualifications -  and despite an improving trend the city still has persistently high levels of worklessness.

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: "We have a clear vision of where we need to get to as a world-class city and the information in this report gives us a clear understanding of how far we are along that road.

"The picture it reveals is encouraging and shows the concerted progress which the City Council, police, health services and other partner agencies are making on many fronts.

"But it is not an airbrushed picture. It also shows that in some areas issues are deep-seated and this progress has not been as rapid or as consistent as we would wish.The report gives us a solid evidence base to equip us to confront these challenges while building on the city's achievements."

Also published today is Manchester's State of the Wards report which looks at progress at a ward and neighbourhood level.

The State of the City and State of the Wards reports can all be downloaded from www.manchesterpartnership.org.uk