ICON launches new analysis of welfare expenditure, economic performance and health outcomes in mission critical neighbourhoods.
We find that:
- Means-tested welfare spend in mission critical neighbourhoods is £3.2bn higher than if these neighbourhoods saw expenditure equivalent to the average neighbourhood in England.
- Half of adults in mission critical neighbourhoods (375,000) are economically inactive, compared to just 39% of adults elsewhere.
- Health outcomes in mission critical neighbourhoods mirror those of developing nations. Despite mission critical neighbourhoods making up just 2% of England’s population, they account for half of the areas where life expectancy is below 70.
- We estimate that Gross Value Added (GVA) per working age person in mission critical neighbourhoods is 40% lower than all other neighbourhoods, at £33,100 compared to £54,500 elsewhere. As a result, lost economic output in mission critical neighbourhoods is around £4.5bn a year.
If we ignore the Mission Million – the million people living in mission critical neighbourhoods – we will not be able to make progress in achieving the government’s governing objectives. The data shows the scale of the challenges these neighbourhoods face.
Read ICON’s full paper here: