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• Ward overview
• Population
• Households
• Deprivation
• Employment and unemployment
• Contact details.

Alternatively, you can download the Skircoat Ward profile: Skircoat [PDF file 508KB]|

Ward overview

Skircoat ward is situated to the south of Halifax town centre and is mainly residential, containing the neighbourhoods of Bell Hall, Manor Drive, Huddersfield Road, Skircoat Green and Copley. It includes the large open spaces of Savile Park, Manor Heath and Spring Hall as well as Long Wood on the escarpment overlooking the Calder valley. The Royal Hospital is also located in the ward and there are local retail centres at Bell Hall and Skircoat Green.

This map is reproduced from or based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.

© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. 100023069. (2010)

Population

Area and population summary

Skircoat occupies an area of 367 hectares, or 1.4 square miles. The total population, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year estimate for 2007, is 12,413. This is made up of 49.0% males and 51.0% females. The population density is 33.8 persons per hectare, and the number of electors in the ward in December 2009 was 9,679.

Population structure

The ward has an older age profile than the district as a whole, but has changed little since 2001.

The table and chart below show the age-structure of the population.

Source: ONS 2007 mid-year estimates

Ethnicity

According to the 2001 Census, 10% of the population was non-white, which was above the district figure of 7%.

Source: 2001 Census

Country of birth

Of the 10.5% of the population born outside the UK, by far the greatest number originate in Asia (6% of the ward population).

Source: CACI Country of Birth files

The chart illustrates the country of birth of the 10.5% of the population who originate outside the UK.

Health

Life expectancy for both men and women in Skircoat is very similar to the district average, and has risen for both over recent years.

Mortality rates (age standardised) for ages under 65 and under 75 are lower than the district and national figures.

Sources: Long term illness: 2001 census, all other indicators: NHS Calderdale

^*SMR (Standardised Mortality Rate) is the ratio of the observed to the expected level of mortality and takes account of the area's age profile. 100 is the national average, so numbers above 100 are worse, below 100 better, than average.

The table and chart below show the change in life expectancy for males and females in Skircoat Ward between 2001-2003 and 2006-2008,

Source: NHS Calderdale

Households

There are a total of 5,353 households in the ward, estimated from the number of occupied dwellings. The average household size is 2.3 persons.

Council Tax banding

The proportion of households in Council Tax Band A is far lower than the district average, while higher numbers are in Bands C and above.

Source: Calderdale Council Chargeable dwellings 2009 (occupied dwellings)

Household incomes

Comparing household income in 2009 with 2003, a shift can be seen from lower to higher incomes. There are fewer households on the lower income bands (below £30,000), and more in the higher bands, than the district as a whole.

Source: CACI Paycheck 2009

The following three tables are all taken from 2001 census data and cannot currently be updated. They show that the main ways in which Skircoat Ward differs from Calderdale overall are:

• very low numbers of lone parents and higher than average proportions of pensioner households
• high rates of owner occupation and a somewhat high proportion of privately rented, with very low rates of social housing
• high car ownership rates

Source: 2001 census

Source: 2001 census

Source: 2001 census

Deprivation

The proportion of benefit recipient households is much lower than the district average, as is the proportion of pensioners receiving Pension Credit. Fuel poverty is somewhat lower.

None of the seven areas in the ward appear in the worst 20% nationally on the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Sources: CMBC Safer and Stronger Communities, Benefits Service, English Housing Conditions Survey, Department of Work and Pensions.

*Percentage is of 60+ population

Employment and unemployment

Unemployment

Claimant count unemployment in Skircoat rose from 112 in January 2006 to 318 in January 2010. This means a rise from 2.1% to 4.2% of the working age population of the ward, which is in line with national figures but below the district figure of 5.1% in January 2010. Changes since 2006 are illustrated in the table and chart below.

Source: Department of Works and Pensions

The 2008 - 2009 Annual Population Survey showed that 5.8% of the economically active population were unable to find jobs, compared with 7.6% in the district and 6.9% nationally.

Employment

The data on this page is about employment at workplaces in Skircoat Ward, which is the third largest ward in Calderdale in terms of employment.

About 60% work in the Public Sector, far above the district average. Total employment did not change between 2006 and 2008.

Source: Annual Business Inquiry 2008

Looking in more detail at the change from 2006 to 2008 in employment by sector, as illustrated in the chart below, job losses of 200 in Manufacturing and 300 in Other Services including Transport were balanced by gains of 200 in Banking, Finance & Insurance and 300 in Public Services, while Distribution, Hotels & Restaurants, and Construction and Utilities have stayed about the same.

Contact details

For further information contact the Research and Consultation Team:

• Email:
• researchandinfo@calderdale.gov.uk
• Telephone:
• 01422 393129.