Benefit cuts will hit Rochdale hard, according to new report

Benefit cuts will hit Rochdale hard according to a report published today (Monday 24 January 2011).

Rochdale will suffer some of the worst cuts in government spending on welfare payments says the report by Centre for Cities.

The report names Rochdale as the second worst affected town in Britain.

It will hit payments such as housing benefit, job seekers’ allowance, incapacity benefit and disability living allowance.

The report says Rochdale is one of the most slowest-growing cities by population, with 200 less people populating the town than there was in 1999, with the annual growth rate at -0.1.

Not only will it be one of the worst to recover from the budget cuts, but Rochdale is one of the top ten cities/towns with the lowest employment rates in the whole of Great Britain, with there being a -3.2% percentage point change in employment rate since 2008.

Figures also show that Rochdale yet again appears in the worst top ten, being one of the worst towns for claimant counts. The borough has had five claimant counts in November 2010, making a difference of -0.7% since November 2009.

Rochdale is below average in inequality rate, the standard for the highest JSA rate in November 2009 is 13.8, and Rochdale comes out at 25.9, with a difference between the highest and lowest JSA rate being 25.

Andy Zuntz, Executive Director, Rochdale Borough Council said: “We continue to work hard supporting residents in the borough to develop new skills and attract more private sector investment into the borough so we can re-balance our economy. A loss of public sector jobs will hit the borough hard, but we’re doing everything we can to support local people into work.”

“We’re ensuring that there are long-term solutions in place to change people’s lives for the better in the years and decades to come.”

“We are responding to significant economic challenges and there’s a lot to do, but there’s a lot of positive change already happening. Our new sixth Form College will help us retain the students who may otherwise go to colleges outside of the borough, who will contribute to the prosperity and vibrancy of the town centre.”

“We’ve got major investment going ahead, including the arrival of Metrolink, new offices and a retail and leisure development which will transform the town centre and help us become a major sub-regional shopping centre.”

“Increasing jobs and skills will be key to the recovery, together with the transport improvements to help people access jobs that are available.”

“As more new businesses come to prime locations in our borough and the redeveloped Rochdale town centre, we’ll also see many new job opportunities arise for local people and we’re committed to making sure our residents are equipped with the skills and qualifications to fill those vacancies.”