Wales slips further behind in wealth stakes

May 9 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

WALES is still struggling to close the wealth gap with the rest of the UK, according to figures published yesterday.

The data, compiled by the Office for National Statistics, puts Wales’ Gross Value Added (GVA) per head – the accepted measure of national wealth – at 77% of the UK average, down from 79% when the Assembly was set up in 1999 and 84% back in 1991.

Despite receiving more than £1bn of EU aid to boost economic activity, with another £1.8bn coming between now and 2013, Wales is firmly at the bottom of the UK league table.

During the second Assembly term, the then-Labour administration stated its aspiration was to raise the GVA level to 90% by 2010.

The One Wales coalition agreement between Plaid and Labour says: “Everyone must have the opportunity to achieve a reasonable standard of living, no matter where they live or what they do”, although there is no specific GVA target.

GVA is now used as a more accurate measure of wealth than the old Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures.

The Assembly Government says the measure is a “blunt instrument”, and points out the same set of data shows disposable income levels in Wales rising since 1999 and staying ahead of Northern Ireland and the north-east of England.

The figures are contained in the Office for National Statistics’ latest collection of national and regional data for the UK.

The data also shows:

Traffic on Welsh motorways and A-roads has jumped 30% since 1993, one of the sharpest rises in Britain;

18% of children live in workless households; the UK average is 16%;

rural and M4 corridor areas have seen their population increase since 1981 while Valleys areas have seen theirs drop.

New figures on disposable household income are to be published today, which Ministers hope will see another rise. They argue that disposable income means more to individuals than overall GVA figures.

But Nick Bourne, leader of the Conservatives in the Assembly, said: “Despite the rhetoric and the self-congratulation we get on a routine basis from the Labour-Plaid government, this shows a steady slide and no improvement in our performance.

“We need to make sure that money is invested in the right areas, and that means skills and training, higher education and infrastructure improvements, which I think the government has neglected.”

Mr Bourne said dualling the A40 west of St Clears and improving rail connections were two practical measures that could be taken. Efforts to cut the numbers on incapacity benefit should also be stepped up, he said.

A spokesman for the Assembly Government said: “Gross disposable household income (GDHI) directly relates to income levels across all households in Wales, and is therefore a better aggregate measure of living standards than GVA, which doesn’t include important components of income.

“The latest GDHI figures show that levels in Wales have increased by 32.3% since 1999 – the biggest percentage increase per head of population compared with all other parts of the UK – including London.”

More than 120,000 jobs have been created in Wales since devolution, the spokesman added, saying: “The pre-devolution unemployment rate was historically above the UK average. Now it is below the UK average.”

The Assembly Government was using “every tool at our disposal” to encourage higher-value skilled employment, the spokesman said, with closer links being fostered between business and universities and business support schemes being simplified.

He added: “The new round of European funding programmes, utilising whenever possible European Investment Bank support, will provide us with the opportunity to deliver further real improvement across the Welsh economy.”

Mr Bourne accused the Assembly Government of “moving the goalposts” by focusing on disposable income.

The GVA figures are contained in the 40th edition of Regional Trends, a publication from the Office for National Statistics. Quirky facts included in the wide-ranging digest include Welsh spending on the National Lottery – £4.80 per head on average – and the vital information that more Welsh homes have a microwave than in any other part of the UK.

Official statistics

Wales’ population as of 2006 is three million, up 5.4% from 1981. But the population of Ceredigion has jumped 26% over the same period, while Blaenau Gwent has seen its population shrink 8.4%

Median gross weekly earnings are £450 for men and £362 for women. The UK median figures are £498 for men and £394 for women.

The employment rate in Wales is 72%, compared with a UK rate of 74%.

49% of Welsh workers have a qualification at A-level or equivalent, slightly below the UK average of 51%.

Wales has the safest roads in Great Britain, with 39 fatal or serious accidents per 100,000 of the population. The UK figure is 47 per 100,000.

Welsh people spend £31 a week on restaurants and hotels, while those living in London spend £45. We spend £11.10 each a week on alcohol, while the Scots spend £14.30.

Source: ONS Regional Trends

Recycling target a long way off

Welsh homes are recycling more waste than ever before – but are still some way off achieving the Welsh Assembly Government’s ambitious 40% target.

In 2005-2006, the latest figures available to the Office for National Statistics, Wales recycled 22% of its household rubbish, up from just 12% in 2002-2003.

Ministers want to see that figure climb to 40% by 2010. England, which has the same target, is currently at 27%, while Scotland is on 26%.

While other environmental indicators point to Wales getting greener – water quality is markedly better than in 1990, the ONS data suggests – other figures suggest our carbon footprints are getting larger, rather than smaller.

Air travel has increased significantly since 2001. In that year 181.2 million people used UK airports, a figure that had risen to 235.1 million by 2006.

Cardiff International Airport saw its annual passenger numbers rise from 1.5 million to 1.9 million over the same period.

And Welsh roads are becoming more congested. Between 1993 and 2006 traffic on motorways and A-roads in Wales increased by 30%, a bigger rise than anywhere else except Northern Ireland.

There are 1.4 million cars licensed in Wales, up from 1.2 million in 2001. But the annual number of new registrations fell from 96,000 to 91,000 over the same period, suggesting we are keeping our cars for longer.

West Wales county proves popular

CEREDIGION has seen its population boom in the past 25 years, making it one of the fastest-growing areas of the United Kingdom.

The West Wales county has seen its population rise 26.1% since 1981, a far sharper rise than anywhere else in Wales.

Ceredigion has the lowest birth rate in Wales and an above-average number of pensioners, suggesting the rise in population is largely down to retired people moving there from elsewhere. The percentage of the population aged under five is also much lower in Ceredigion than elsewhere in Wales.

The figures are contained in a compendium of facts published by the Office for National Statistics, which suggest parts of Wales are becoming retirement hotspots. In Conwy 26.9% of the population is of retirement age; the overall UK figure is 18.7%.

The data also underlines the population growth in areas along the M4 and A55 corridors, and in rural areas, while Valleys communities have experienced depopulation.

Blaenau Gwent’s population is down 8.4% and Merthyr’s has fallen 8.3% since 1981.

Cardiff is the most densely-populated area of Wales, with 2,268 people per square kilometre of land. Powys is at the other end of the scale with just 25.

Ceredigion’s rising population has led to some controversy, particularly over housing. In 2004, plans to build thousands of new houses in Ceredigion led to calls for a London-style directly-elected mayor, but that proposal was rejected by voters in a referendum.

Mark Williams, the MP for Ceredigion, said: “I can understand why people want to move to a beautiful area where the quality of life is very high.

“There has been a big increase in the student population as well, bringing in a huge amount of money to the economy.”

The rising population had put pressure on council services, he said, and added that 40% of his constituency casework related to housing.

Mr Williams added: “On the other hand, in relation to education, I’ve heard on numerous occasions of examples where if it wasn’t for migration many more village schools would be under threat. The incoming population has kept those communities alive