HCF's new research report identifies some of the key challenges facing Hertfordshire residents and highlights inequalities that exist in the county.
Drawing on the latest indices of multiple deprivation data HCF’s report, Hertfordshire Matters 2020, focuses on eight key themes including deprivation, health, homelessness and crime helping identify the key social issues facing local residents. The report was launched at on online event on Tuesday, 23 June attended by over 200 philanthropists, local organisations, community leaders and the Hertfordshire voluntary sector.
According to the research over 25,000 Hertfordshire children live in poverty, hospital admissions for youth mental health are above the national average and that since 2011 there has been a significant increase in homelessness (a 96% increase in statutory homelessness and 165% increase in homeless households in temporary accommodation). Additionally, your life expectancy may vary by as much as 13 years depending on where you live in the county.
Helen Gray, Foundation Director for HCF said: “Hertfordshire Matters is a snapshot that measures the well-being of our communities. It helps us to identify strengths, needs and trends and the issues that are critical to our community’s quality of life. As the impact of the coronavirus outbreak unfolds the crisis has further exposed local issues including homelessness, food poverty, social isolation, poor mental health and domestic violence. As the full impact of the pandemic unfolds these issues are likely to worsen. As a result, it has become even more important for community stakeholders to understand the needs and challenges within our communities so that we can collectively tackle them.”
St Albans Within the St Albans district the report highlights the unequal access to the housing market with the highest average house price in the county at £597,873 compared to the lowest in Stevenage with an average of £286,845 (between September 2018 and August 2019).
The district is also named for being one of only three districts in the county with carbon dioxide emissions levels above the England average.
On a positive front St Albans had the highest turnout in the county in the most recent elections, with a higher proportion of people voting in Hertfordshire than across England.
Hemel Hempstead According to the report the Hemel Hempstead district has the highest concentration of child poverty at a neighbourhood level in the county which means for these struggling families their children are growing up poor.
Hemel Hempstead is also named as having the highest concentration of people recorded to have poor mental health. Neighbourhoods in Hemel Hempstead are also reported to have the highest levels of educational disadvantage (along with Welwyn Garden City). This unsurprisingly also translates into fewer young adults being likely to progress into High Education compared to other parts of the county.
Borehamwood and Elstree Borehamwood performs poorly across poverty, deprivation, housing and health themes. With Cowley Hill identified as the most deprived neighbourhood in Hertfordshire and the only neighbourhood ranked amongst the most deprived 10% in England. In addition, the report states that one-in-three residents are income deprived (rising to 40% amongst children) and one-in-four adults are out of work. Sadly, this translates to Borehamwood having above average rates of child poverty in the county.
More than 1 in 10 households lives in overcrowded conditions and there are higher than expected levels of hospitalisations due to alcohol attributable harm.
Welwyn Hatfield The report points out that there is a high degree of inequality in life expectancy across Hertfordshire. Welwyn Hatfield residents fall in both ends of the spectrum with males in Peartree living on average 11 years less than males in Aldenham, Hertsmere and females in Holywell, Watford living nearly 13 years less than those in Welwyn North.
Housing is a worrying issue for the Welwyn Hatfield. More than one in ten households in Hatfield is overcrowded and the demand for social housing outstrips supply. Rates of homelessness in Hatfield are above the national average.
These statistics are compounded by the population in Welwyn Hatfield having the greatest percentage increase across all age groups with considerably above average population growth predicted in the 0-14 and 15-64 age groups. The population grew by 10.9% between 2011 and 2018 while the stock of available housing increased by just 4.7%.
Watford For Watford the report has pinpointed several key social issues. In relation to housing more than one in 10 households in Watford lives in overcrowded conditions. Watford also has the highest rate of rough sleeping of all districts in the county with 3.5 per 100 households, well above the England average of 2.0 per 10,000 households.
The report also highlights that females living in the Holywell, Watford, live nearly 13 years less than those living in Welwyn North, a key indicator of the inequality in the county.
Another key statistic is that unemployment rates have been increasing in Watford and are drawing closer to the national average. This will have increased in severity since the pandemic outbreak.
Stevenage Hertfordshire Matters states there is evidence of inequality across the county with 45 neighbourhoods ranked amongst the most deprived 30% with the highest concentration in Stevenage and Broxbourne.
Housing is also a worrying issue for the district with demand for social housing in Stevenage outstripping supply and rates of homelessness above the England average.
Stevenage has a higher rate of teenage maternities than the national average, while overall Hertfordshire has a lower proportion of teen births than the England average.
Another key statistic is that unemployment rates have been increasing in Stevenage and are drawing closer to the national average. This will have increased in severity since the pandemic outbreak.
Royston Hertfordshire Matters findings for Royston include that Royston is the only town in the county with a higher rate of emergency hospital admissions for self-harm than the regional average. Access to hospitals and GP surgeries is also poorly rated with an average travel time of over 50 minutes to the nearest hospital.
Education is also a concern. Young adults living in Royston are less likely to progress to Higher education than those from other parts of the county.
“We will use Hertfordshire Matters 2020 to advise our donors and fund holders to ensure their local giving delivers the greatest possible impact and to support organisations that we work with. We know that it is only with knowledge and understanding that these challenges can be addressed. We hope that the information will help more people to connect, collaborate and engage to build stronger communities and to make our county a better place for everyone.” concluded Helen Gray.
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DOWNLOAD For further information or to request a hard copy of the report please email
marketing@hertscf.org.uk