Rochdale scores badly for anti-social behaviour

People in the Borough of Rochdale believe anti-social behaviour is worse in the borough than other parts of the country.

A so-called quality of life scorecard published by the Government looks at what people think and feel about their area based on eight indicators ranging from anti-social behaviour to voting patterns and volunteering.

According to the findings the number of residents of the borough who say anti-social behaviour is a problem is significantly higher than the national average.

Communities Secretary John Denham said: “For the vast majority of people, if they think about their street and the community they live in, they will not recognise the picture of a broken Britain.

“While there are some real problems, some broken families and some limited pockets of problem behaviour, using these problems to generalise that the whole of society is broken does Britain a huge dis-service and feeds a mood of pessimism.

“More worryingly it will lead to the wrong problems being identified and the wrong solutions being offered.”

Mr Denham believes the accessible format will enable all local residents to challenge councillors and MPs on issues of concern.

The information is part of Government’s Our Nation’s Civic Health paper published yesterday.

Mr Denham added: “Our nation’s civic health gives people in every area of the country the information they need to talk up the strengths of their communities and challenge those that would seek to talk it down.

“Where tough challenges really do exist around jobs, anti-social behaviour, problem families and cohesion, specific action is needed to turn things around. These reports help to identify where social problems are the greatest and promote targeted action to address them.”

More information:

www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1520692.pdf