Summary statistics for Blackburn with Darwen
Population
At the mid year 2010 the population of Blackburn with Darwen was estimated to be 140,000.
Over the last five years the population of the borough has remained relatively stable. From a population size of
139,900 in 2006 there has been a small increase of 0.1%.
30.3% of residents in the borough area aged 0 to 19. This is the highest proportion of young people in
England and Wales, on a par with Newham in London.
Only 12.9% of residents in Blackburn with Darwen are aged 65 and over, compared to 16.7% in the North
West and 16.6% in England and Wales as a whole.
The 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks the borough as the 17th most deprived authority in England (on
the rank of average score). With a third of residents living in areas classified as being in the most 10%
deprived in England.
Data from the 2001 Census highlighted that 22.1% of the borough’s population were from Black and Minority
Ethnic groups. More recent ONS data estimates suggest that this figure has not changed significantly.
In 2010 around 880 foreign national adults living in the borough applied for National Insurance Numbers,
200 were from Pakistan, 170 Poland and 120 India.
Health
Life expectancy in the borough for both men (74.8 years) and women (79.6 years) is one of the worst of all
local authorities in England, ranking 320 of the 326 local authorities. Of the 151 PCTs, the borough ranks
147th worst for men and 148th worst for women. Within the borough, life expectancy in the most deprived 10%
of the borough it is 12.4 years lower for men and 7.1 years lower for women compared to the least deprived
10% of Blackburn with Darwen.
Over the last 10 years, all cause mortality rates have fallen, along with early deaths from cancer and from
heart disease and stroke, but remain worse than the England average.
However, the percentage of children aged 13 and under who spend at least 3 hours per week on high quality
PE and school sport in the borough (65.1%) is greater than the England average of 55.1%.
Housing
At March 2011, 58.7% of houses in the borough were in council tax band A, compared to the national average
of 24.8% and regional average of 41.9%.
Land Registry house price data for February 2012 puts the average property price in the borough at £77,978
compared to the England and Wales average of £161,588. A terraced property costs on average £49,729
compared to £123,314 nationally.
The ‘housing fitness standard’ has been replaced by a new classification system that aims to identify hazards
to health and safety in dwellings. For a home to be deemed decent, it should be free from the most serious
category 1 hazards. Figures for Blackburn with Darwen are estimated from a housing survey that was
undertaken in 2009. As of 1st April 2011 approximately 12,303 dwellings in the borough were estimated to
have a category 1 hazard. This represents around 20.6% of dwellings in the borough.
Economy and labour force
In March 2012 5.0% of residents in the borough aged 16 to 64 were claiming job seekers allowance, above
the regional (4.7%) and national (4.1%) averages.
In total 18.8% are claiming key out of work benefits (including JSA, Incapacity Benefit and Employment
Support Allowance), higher than the regional (15.2%) and national (12.3%) averages (as of August 2011).
The borough relies more on the manufacturing sector for jobs than regionally and nationally, 20.3% of jobs in
the borough are in this sector compared to 11.6% in the North West and 10.2% in Great Britain as a whole.
Fewer jobs are in the ‘finance, IT and other business’ classification, 15.1% compared to 19.7% regionally and
22.0% nationally. Under a third of the borough’s jobs are in ‘public admin, education and health’ (30.1%) just
above the regional (28.2%) and national (27.0%) averages. (2008 data).
Sources:
Population
2010 Mid Year Population Estimates : http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-referencetables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-231847
2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation :
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/indices2010
2001 Census ethnicity data :
http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=276819&c=blackburn+wit
h+darwen&d=13&e=15&g=388677&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1335437298581&enc=1&dsFamil
yId=47
Department for Work and Pensions National Insurance Number Allocations to Overseas Nationals:
http://83.244.183.180/mgw/live/mw/tabtool_mw.html
Health
Life Expectancy Number and Rank: https://indicators.ic.nhs.uk/webview/
Life Expectancy by deprivation decile, mortality and PE school sport activity:
http://www.apho.org.uk/resource/view.aspx?RID=105212
Housing
Council Tax bands :
http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=276819&c=blackburn+wit
h+darwen&d=13&e=7&g=388677&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1335439169001&enc=1&dsFamilyI
d=938
Land Registry House Price Data: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/house-prices-and-sales
Housing fitness – Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2010/11:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/localauthori
tyhousing/dataforms/hssabpsa1011/hssadatareturns1011/
Economy and labour force
All data: http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/2038432051/report.aspx
Where appropriate:
Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.1.0
Department of Health ©Crown Copyright 2011
Communities and Local Government ©Crown Copyright 2011