84 per cent on benefits in part of the borough

Falinge flats

An area within the borough of Rochdale has been named Britain’s benefit blackspot as figures showed a staggering 84 per cent of residents were on benefits.

The area in question, Central and Falinge Ward, sees 865 of the 1,030 adults of working age are claiming benefits.

The figures show that the area has the highest level of benefit claims in the whole country.

Of those claiming, more than 700, are claiming Job Seekers Allowance or incapacity benefit.

A Council spokesperson said: “There is already a lot of hard work going on to make the quality of life better for people in Central and Falinge and across the borough.

“The figures do not show the progress which is being made to move people nearer to work, upskilling, increasing their skills and experience from volunteering.

“The data will take time to improve, but progress is being made on supporting people into work.

“There are a lot of reasons why so many people in this particular area are claiming benefits but we remain optimistic that we can, over time, make families less reliant on benefits and we therefore welcome any new assessments that help encourage people back into work.”

The spokesperson added: “The regeneration of the town centre, less than half a mile away from Falinge, will create a number of new jobs which we hope people living close by will take up.

“In addition, Kingsway Business Park, a 170 hectare (420 acre) development, is continuing its transformation into one of the largest mixed-use schemes in the country and will support more than 7,000 direct jobs phased over the next 10 to 15 years.”

The figures also show the Central and Falinge ward has some of the lowest life expectancy rates in the country.

The research was carried out by Spectator magazine.