Annex A - Area Case Studies ANNEX Aiv - HEMSWORTH & SOUTH ELMSALL, SOUTH KIRBY AND UPTON ("SESKU") 1. South Elmsall, South Kirkby, Upton and Hemsworth are former mining settlements in the south-east corner of the Wakefield district. The two local pits (South Kirkby and Frickley) directly employed over 3,200 workers at their peak. The last pit in the area (Frickley) closed in 1994 with the direct loss of over 700 jobs. The local communities still suffer from serious environmental, social and economic problems - and a crisis of morale - as a result of the loss of jobs in the mining industry. Employment 2. The Wakefield district generally has suffered from the collapse of mining and a decline in manufacturing and engineering employment. Across the district there has been some increase in employment opportunities but these have tended to be in warehousing and distribution activities - Hemsworth and SESKU are very well-placed in relation to the national motorway network - and in part time and lower skilled jobs with lower income levels. Unemployment rates have fallen but not as fast as national trends. 3. There is little tradition of enterprise in the area. For many years, local people did not have to make their way in the labour market, as the pits were the near-universal destination. This lack of an enterprise culture is aggravated by a strong sense of nostalgia for the past. 4. The restructuring of industry and work following the pit closures has been largely based on the public sector, manual work in large storage depots on the edge of town (universally known to local people as "the sheds") and part-time temporary work. There are few quality jobs in the immediate area - before the introduction of the minimum wage, hourly rates of £1.75 were, we were told, not uncommon. 5. Levels of employment are also very low. In particular, there is a striking reliance on incapacity benefit. 50% of Hemsowrth's miners went straight onto this benefit when the pits shut. 6. Car ownership is low, and there is an unwillingness to travel relatively short distances to work/train, which is partly cultural but also, possibly, reflects the economics of a low wage sub-regional economy and indifferent local public transport links. Educational Institutions 7. The following organisations have participated in discussions and visits: City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Adult Education Service and Regeneration Department Leeds Metropolitan University, Policy Research Institute New Hall Prison Education Wing, Wakefield Northern College Minsthorpe Community College Wakefield College Education/Qualifications In 1998, 38.7% of Wakefield pupils gained five or more GCSEs, compared to a regional average of 41.8% and England average of 46.3%. Local TEC research shows that the proportion of the working population of Wakefield district as a whole with NVQ 3 and 4, at 45.1% and 30% respectively, is above the UK average of 41.8% and 23.9%. Ward level data on education and training is not available. Previous Regeneration Activity 8. While the SESKU area has benefited significantly from investment from the Single Regeneration Budget, Hemsworth itself - just up the road - has not. This is the cause of some local resentment as people in Hemsworth feel that, in terms of economic and social indicators, there is little to choose between the two areas. Consultees 9. The main agencies and individuals consulted were: SESKU Partnership, Employment Service, Guidance/Careers Service, Wakefield TEC, Government Office Yorkshire and the Humber, Y & H Regional Development Agency, The Hemsworth Partnership, West Yorkshire Police, Employers, Westfield Resource and Enterprise Centre, Hemsworth Centre of Wakefield College, Kinsley and Fitzwilliam Community Resource Centre, Havercroft Skills Project, Havercroft Parish Hall, Northern College at: Fitzwilliam Working Mens Club, Alpha Working Men's Club, Coalfields Learning Project, Acorn Centre, Grimethorpe, Hemsworth Training and Research Study. The Hemsworth lnitiative'Shop', Wakefield TEC's mobile 'drop-in' development centre, Wheels in Motion Residents Group, Community Action Forum, National Union of Mineworkers, WISH (Women's Information Service Helpline, Citizens Advice Bureaux, The Homework Club, Upton Library, Training in Action, Upton Village Hall, SESKU Wakefield College Training Group, Education Officer, New Hall Women's Prison, Discussions held with residents of the City Housing Estate, Fitzwilliam, participating in the BBC Webwise Internet taster course, Kinsley Craft Centre Main Issues Emerging Education does not appear to be valued (as it is in the former Welsh coalfield) and school results are poor, relative to local and national averages. This and the very limited cultural outlets locally, is likely to discourage the inflow of new middle income/middle class residents. While suitable opportunities are available locally that are supported by the LEA, there is no male-oriented training curriculum at the Wakefield College's site in the area. The local college provides courses in child care, use of IT and horticulture, which are unlikely to appeal to young men from a mining background. The college is unsurprisingly viewed by many locally as a "women's college". Wakefield College does provide engineering courses - but at a different site in Castleford, which many people are unable or unwilling to travel too. There is a strong sense of community in the area, and an evident determination on the part of key residents, at a very local level, to work (voluntarily) for the survival of the community. At the same time, morale is paradoxically very low. There appears to be a feeling that Hemsworth is "the forgotten outpost of Wakefield" (although some people who live elsewhere in the district would strongly disagree!). On the weakest estate we visited, there is a distrust of agencies and politics, as well as a strong feeling of being at the very margins of their interest. Even worse, there is a feeling that the estate is the last stop for "problem" families, which is beginning to result in a fragmentation of the social cohesion. There seems to be a lack of focus among local officials about the key strategic goals for the area, very little strategic co-ordination and little idea of who is responsible. An important concern is the difficulty of making separate funding streams - each with their own audit and reporting requirements work effectively together. Objective 1 status is to be granted to neighbouring South Yorkshire. However, since Hemsworth, despite strong similar problems falls outside these boundaries, local people fear it could become further marginalised. Relevant research Developing for the future, an assessment of the Wakefield economy and its future prospects. 1998 Survey of Employers An analysis of current trends in the Wakefield District. Wakefield TEC Ltd Yorkshire Household Survey 1997/1998. Wakefield TEC Ltd Detailed SRB research studies from Leeds Metropolitan University, Policy Research Institute Hemsworth Training and Enterprise Research Study Airedale and Warwick Needs Audit Beyond the Baselines: A Baseline Study of Disadvantage in Priority 5n Areas of the Wakefield District SESKU SRB Programme Executive summary Creating A Learning Dome Over The SESKU Area - Minesthorpe Community College The College in Hemsworth - New Directions Data 10. Local or ward level data is limited. The latest available economic activity rates at ward level are based on the 1991 Census of Population. The attached tables show that activity rates in South Elmsall, South Kirkby and Hemsworth were below the district, regional and national average. Rates will certainly be much lower now, following the pit closure in 1994. 11. Unemployment rates are not officially available at ward level. Estimates using current numbers of unemployed (claimant count) by ward as a proportion of the economically active population in 1991 show that unemployment in the selected wards is above district, regional and national level. These figures probably underestimate the true picture. Long term unemployment (over six months) varies across the three wards but overall is higher than the district and regional rate and lower than the national rate. Figures supplied by GOYH Percentage of Economically Active Residents 16+ Numerator Denominator Ratio WARD91 Name 6,603 11,654 57 Hemsworth 6,403 11,438 56 South Elmsall 5,943 11,035 54 South Kirkby 18,949 34,127 56 Column Totals 148,561 247,321 60 Wakefield LAD 2,309,239 3,851,441 60 Yorkshire and Humberside 26,776,802 43,865,121 61 Great Britain Source : 1991 Census of Population Unemployed claimants November 1998 Persons % WARD91 Name 403 6.1 Hemsworth* 309 4.8 South Elmsall* 430 7.2 South Kirkby* 1,142 6.0 Column Totals* 7,641 5.8 Wakefield LAD 6,577 5.6 Wakefield and Dewsbury TTWA 7,840 5.8 Wakefield TTWA (1998) 127,083 5.5 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,229,5444 4.4 Great Britain Source : Claimant Count November 1998 * Rates are not available at ward level. Calculation made using 1991 economically active, but this is likely to underestimate true position - Wakefield LAD is 5.1% on this basis. People unemployed more than six months as a percentage of all unemployed in area Persons % WARD91 Name 184 47.1 Hemsworth 141 44.9 South Elmsall 172 40.6 South Kirkby 497 44.0 Column Totals 3,127 41.3 Wakefield LAD 55,751 43.9 Yorkshire and Humberside 549,555 44.7 Great Britain Source : Claimant Count October 1998

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