evidence of the impact of the economic downturn on...

Policy Division, Huntingdonshire District Council, February 2009. : [email protected]

Appendix A

Evidence of the impact of the Economic Downturn on Huntingdonshire’s communities, businesses & services

The evidence in this report has been listed by each theme of the Sustainable Community Strategy.

Falling house prices The latest quarterly data from the Land Registry shows the average price of a property in Huntingdonshire has fallen below £200,000. This is around 6.6% below the UK average price and more than 10% below the countywide average. The data is based on fewer than 1,600 sales in Cambridgeshire, which is less than half the number recorded in this quarter in previous years.

Average Price of Properties October - December 2008

Region/Area Detached Semi- detached Terraced Flat/

Maisonette Overall

CAMBRIDGE £486,030 £279,848 £293,608 £171,158 £262,731 SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE £351,386 £205,742 £174,391 £148,037 £247,701 HUNTINGDONSHIRE £263,422 £169,148 £152,084 £116,099 £191,870 EAST CAMBRIDGESHIRE £259,557 £173,330 £150,717 £111,004 £189,880 FENLAND £195,971 £122,277 £118,583 £76,384 £147,357 CITY OF PETERBOROUGH £220,830 £142,995 £122,212 £99,555 £155,466 CAMBRIDGESHIRE £291,327 £191,194 £183,028 £146,559 £213,335 BEDFORDSHIRE £303,811 £190,914 £158,820 £135,448 £205,177 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE £269,395 £149,870 £122,124 £105,387 £174,867 UK £315,365 £182,248 £160,006 £183,001 £205,372

Source: BBC News website (accessed 9th February 2009) – figures from HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland Executive Agency and University of Ulster in partnership with Bank of Ireland House prices in Huntingdonshire fell by 8.7% on average over the year from October-December 2007 to October-December 2008. This was greater than the average 7.6% decrease across the UK in this period, the 7.5% decrease in East Anglia and the countywide average 8.3% decrease. Prices of detached houses in the district fell by 10.1%, semi-detached houses fell by 9.3%, terraced houses fell by 6% and flats/maisonettes fell by 14.1%.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/uk_house_prices/counties/html/county12.stm

mailto:[email protected]


Affordability of housing in Cambridgeshire The table on the next page compares affordability of housing in Cambridgeshire’s districts by comparing median full-time earnings and average house prices. This table uses a borrowing multiplier of 3.5 and it also assumes that buyers are able to afford a deposit of 25% as recent figures from the financial information service Moneyfacts show that 64% of all mortgages now require a deposit of at least 25% of the value of the property (BBC news website, 4th Feb 2009).

Area Median weekly full-

time earnings

Average house price

Average deposit required

Average amount a full-time worker can

borrow (3.5 multiplier)

Multiplier required for purchase

CAMBRIDGE CITY £525.40 £262,731 £65,683 £95,623 7.2 S CAMBRIDGESHIRE £574.40 £247,701 £61,925 £104,541 6.2 HUNTINGDONSHIRE £523.60 £191,870 £47,968 £95,295 5.3 E CAMBRIDGESHIRE £487.00 £189,880 £47,470 £88,634 5.6 FENLAND £418.70 £147,357 £36,839 £76,203 5.1 CAMBRIDGESHIRE £512.70 £213,335 £53,334 £93,311 6.0 UK £478.60 £205,372 £51,343 £87,105 6.2

The table shows that a full-time worker on median earnings needs a borrowing multiplier of 5.3 to buy a house marketed at the average price. While lower than the county and UK averages, the multiplier is still far higher than most mortgage lenders would currently offer to potential customers. Fewer planning applications being submitted The District Council has received nearly 300 fewer planning applications during the first 3 quarters of the current year (April-December 2008) than during the same period in the previous year. This is a fall of nearly 19%. However, this reduction in applications has not yet resulted in a financial loss to the Council with an increase of just over 10% in fees received during the comparable period due to the receipt of some complex (max fee) and officer time consuming applications. Potential loss of skills in construction industry The construction industry is concerned about its future readiness to respond to increased demand for building work once the economy picks up again, with fewer apprenticeships now available.

More demand for housing support and advice / homelessness The District Council has been successful with reducing homelessness in the district over the last four years by changing the way its housing advice service is delivered. As a result, households accepted as homelessness fell from 254 in 2004/05 to 146 in 2007/08. In the period from April 2008 to the end of December 2008, 127 households were accepted as homeless compared to 105 households in the same period the previous year (a 21% increase). This is not purely because of mortgage repossessions but predominately due to banks tightening their lending criteria and fewer mortgage products being available. Households are therefore increasingly finding it harder to resolve their own housing needs and so come to the council for help.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7869468.stm


The number of households where homelessness was prevented increased from 98 in 2005/06 to 138 in 2007/08, with the majority of these households helped to find private sector tenancies via the Rent Deposit/Rent In Advance scheme. We have already helped 129 households to avoid homelessness in the first six months of this year compared to 52 in the same period of the previous year and so we can see the positive outcomes of our prevention and options services. There were 242 mortgage possession claims (where the lender has applied to the court for possession) made in Huntingdon County Court from January 2008 to the end of September 2008 (an increase of 28% on the same period in the previous year). We do not know how many of these claims resulted in Possession Orders been given and the property actually being repossessed as this data is not available. However, the trend is for an increasing number of possession actions because of mortgage arrears and this is likely to result in a higher rate of actual repossessions.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has started to produce data on the number of repossession that are taking place (i.e. the homeowner hands the property back to the lender or the lender successfully seeks possession via the courts) but this data is not broken down into geographic areas so we cannot say how many actual repossessions take place in this district. However, the CML reports that nationally 11,300 properties were repossessed in the period 1/7/08 to 30/9/08 which was 12% higher than the previous quarter. The CML continues to expect the total number of repossessions in 2008 to be around 45,000. The CML reports that 1.44% of mortgages were at least three months in arrears as at the end of September 2008. This was up from 1.33% at the end of June. The number of cases in arrears at the end of September was 168,000, 8% higher than the 155,600 at the end of June. Unsurprisingly in a worsening economy, the number of households in arrears by the end of 2008 was predicted to reach 170,000. Cambridgeshire’s Homelessness Joint Strategic Needs Assessment is expected to be produced by June/July 2009 and this will include ‘sofa surfers’ and military leavers who may not be classed as statutorily homeless. More people seeking counselling The Hunts Post reported on 28th January 2009 that “financial doom and gloom has led to a sharp increase in the number of people seeking counselling because of money worries”. Since the end of December, Hunts Mind said there had been an increase of 40 per cent in referrals from the Hunts Mind Changing Lives project. The referrals are people concerned about debt, job loss or possible redundancy. Jenny Weston, mental health promotion worker at Hunts Mind, said: “Approximately one out of every three people we are seeing is reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety, which they directly relate to financial and relationship issues. This represents a shift because for many years we have worked with people that have long term mental diagnoses.” She added that the CAB had been referring people to Hunts Mind who are distressed due to their financial situation and said that “Debt isn’t just a financial problem. It causes relationships to break up, people to lose their homes and families to break up.” Hunts Forum for Voluntary Organisations has also noted a recent increase in demand for mediation services and counseling for those in the process of getting divorced.



Increase in claims for Housing Benefit / Council Tax Benefit The following table shows how the numbers of applications for Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) have increased since December 2007 (many CTB claimants also claim HB).

New Claims Processed Month CTB HB Total December 2007 200 164 364 January 2008 270 213 483 February 2008 299 236 535 March 2008 292 226 518 April 2008 290 222 512 May 2908 287 223 510 June 2008 320 244 564 July 2008 304 248 552 August 2008 278 222 500 September 2008 326 271 597 October 2008 365 273 638 November 2008 352 272 624 December 2008 375 304 679 January 2009 356 266 622 Totals 4314 3384 7698

The quarterly figures for the numbers of new claims processed show that there has been an increase of more than 26% from the final quarter of 2007/8 to the latest quarter. The graph below shows how the number of new claims processed each month by the District Council’s Benefits service has changed since December 2007:

Number of New Claims Processed

375356

164

213

248222

272304

266

364

483

535518 512 510

564 552

500

597

638 624

679

622

200

270299 292 290 287

320352365

326

278304

236 226 222223

244 271 273

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09Month

Num

ber o

f Cla

ims

CTBHBCTB & HB"

The total caseload (HB & CTB) dealt with by the District Council’s Benefits service has increased significantly over recent months to 8,801 active claims at January 2009. This is an increase of 611 over January 2008 (7.5% increase), with an increase of 385 cases since September 2008.

Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 8,185 8,190 8,234 8,232 8,242 8,249 8,286 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 8,358 8,375 8,416 8,485 8,585 8,680 8,801

Despite the increased caseload, the Benefits service has still managed to meet its customer service targets, with 97.7% of claims assessed within 14 days and the time taken to process new claims and change events (National Indicator 181) averaging 14 days (quarter to December 2008).

New Claims Processed

Quarter CTB HB Total 2007/8 Q4 861 675 1,536 2008/9 Q1 897 689 1,586 2008/9 Q2 908 741 1,649 2008/9 Q3 1,092 849 1,941



There are 8,373 Council Tax Benefit claimants in the district. This means that 12.1% of all households are claiming Council Tax Benefit. The level of claimants varies substantially between wards as shown in the map on the left. Less than 7% of households in Ellington, Little Paxton, Kimbolton and Staughton and The Hemingfords are claiming, compared with five wards with levels over 15%. In Huntingdon North, more than one in every four households is claiming. There are five wards with over 500 claimants – Huntingdon East, Huntingdon North, St Neots Eynesbury, Yaxley and Farcet and Ramsey. Three wards have less than 100 claimants – Kimbolton and Staughton, Little Paxton and Ellington.

There are 6,664 Housing Benefit claimants in the district. This means that 9.6% of all households are claiming. The level of claimants varies substantially between wards. Just 2.4% of households in Little Paxton claim Housing Benefit compared to more than one in four households in Huntingdon North. There are 400 or more claimants in Yaxley and Farcet, Ramsey, St Neots Eynesbury, Huntingdon East and Huntingdon North but six wards have less than 100 claimants. The map opposite and the map on the previous page clearly show the link between Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit claimants. The majority of Housing Benefit claimants also claim Council Tax Benefit and many Council Tax Benefit claimants also receive Housing Benefit.

Housing Benefit

% of householdsclaiming HousingBenefit

2.4 - 5.85.9 - 8.38.4 - 15.615.7 - 25.9

Source: HuntingdonshireDistrict Council,January 2009

'Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Mappingwith the permission of the Controller of her Majesty's Stationery Office. (c) Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.100022322.'

Council Tax Benefit

% of householdsclaiming CouncilTax Benefit

6.1 - 8.58.6 - 11.111.2 - 1919.1 - 27

Source: HuntingdonshireDistrict Council,January 2009




Impact on recycling The national media has reported on a national recycling “crisis” due to falling commodity prices and the reduced demand for raw materials from the Far East (India and China). Only about 5% of material from Cambridgeshire was being shipped to the Far East, hence the loss of that market does not constitute the end of recycling viability. Cambridgeshire is not stockpiling recyclable material and in fact processes the vast majority in the East of England. Source: ‘Update on the Economic Downturn – Impact on People and Services’ report, Cambridgeshire Together Board, 20 January 2009 The cost of recycling materials has risen due to increased gate fees. These charges are having an impact on Huntingdonshire District Council’s budgets but materials are still being sent for recycling. Greater incentive to use energy efficiently – saving money The impact of the downturn may affect residents’ spending power so there may be more incentive for residents to save money wherever possible. The District Council is promoting energy efficiency measures as a way of reducing household spending on heating and other energy costs. The Council is encouraging people to take advantage of grants available, such as free loft insulation for certain residents, as these will help them to save money and reduce their carbon emissions. More young people staying in further education or training More young people in Cambridgeshire are staying in further education or training, according to new figures. Connexions figures show that 500 more 16-18 year-olds have stayed in the classroom this academic year compared to the previous. Connexions performance manager, Jeanette Perkins, said “While the figures are encouraging, it does reflect the shrinking job market and particularly affects those young people with few qualifications and those dropping out of education seeking a stop gap.” Source: The Hunts Post, 28 January 2009 Huntingdonshire Regional College are running a ‘pathway to work’ course aimed at those who are not in employment or training and those aged 19-plus. This has been a high demand for this course, particularly when compared to levels of demand for similar courses in recent years. Free school meals Analysis of the County Council’s School Census for 2007 and 2008 shows that there was only a small increase in the number of pupils in the district who were eligible for free school meals (+20). However, numbers are being tracked to show recent changes and where increases are highest.



Impact on Voluntary & Community Organisations From Julie Farrow, Chief Executive, Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations: Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations has conducted an online poll to assess the impact of the current credit crisis; the following is a selection of responses from some follow up meetings with small charities and community groups. Our on-line poll continues and more information will be available shortly. ‘Last year I received the funding for a part time worker from the statutory sector, because the statutory sector department that gave me the funding has had almost half its budget cut for 2009/10 I have every indication that I shall not get any funding at all from them next year. I am being given no information, help or support to find the money to continue the work that was considered valuable last year but apparently not next year. My only options are to apply for several smaller pots to try to replace it.’ Support charity for vulnerable young adults ‘In 2005 we applied and were awarded funding to provide support groups for people with mental health issues, and were given every indication that a further application would be successful. In December 2008 we applied and have been refused funding – at this present time Hunts Forum are working on our behalf to source funding opportunities. If we are unsuccessful the groups will have to close.’ Community Group ‘Although the number of people we are seeing has increased, we have applied but been unsuccessful in gaining a grant (when questioned the grant body told us more groups had applied for funding than they had money for) now our budget is so tight a reduction in opening hours and redundancies will be the only way we can survive’. Advice and guidance charity ‘We have seen a £20,000 reduction in donations to support the centre, whilst our bills have increased from gas and electric to ground rent. 99% of our members are medically retired but do contribute to the services they receive from us. We have reduced the number of days we open but still only have 3 months operating costs left. Due to the nature of our work we are not supported by statutory bodies although the NHS does use our centre to provide some services for which no charge is made.’ MS Therapy Centre Medium sized charities have listed a number of factors which have affected them:-

The abstraction of millions of pounds, which formerly went to charitable causes, from the Big Lottery Fund to support the 2012 Olympics.

The move to funding strategic partnerships over single organisations, in order to streamline the commissioning and reporting processes for local authorities and larger funding bodies.

Following the advent of the Equality Act 2006 and the government’s cohesion agenda, organisations and projects that are considered to offer a service for only one of the equality groups (‘single strand’ organisations or projects) have failed to attract funding. This has hit BME organisations and projects very hard.

Third-sector organisations in Huntingdon and East Cambridgeshire have seen their funding effectively cut, as funds previously available to them have been diverted to support initiatives in Fenland, with its generally higher health and social inequalities.

The current climate of economic uncertainty has exacerbated the above. Funding for innovative work has always been difficult to secure; I believe that the risk-averse tendency



of funders we can expect to increase further. While we in the third sector may see this as a time of great opportunity, our funding partners may not.

Hunts Forum has also experienced some difficulties, following a restructure one voluntary organisation who is a tenant at the Maple Centre has given notice – currently we have no one to replace them – this will mean a £3,500 reduction in operating costs. We also applied for funding to support voluntary groups, giving greater access to resources but were unsuccessful (feedback was good application but too many groups applied). It is expected that, as the downturn continues, some groups will fold and some will merge with others or diversify into working in areas where more funding is available. Financial aid for advice and guidance services Cambridgeshire County Council’s Cabinet has agreed a financial aid package, totalling £500,000 over two years, with Cambridgeshire Together to coordinate how the money will be spent in each district. The first round of financial support of £200,000 will go to Cambridgeshire’s Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) and the partnership Advice for Life. The extra funding will enable the organisations involved to help an extra 300 people in Huntingdonshire. This initial support will:

Fund a full time employment advisor for Advice for Life (who have seen a 30 percent increase in employment enquiries over a 12 month period)

Provide CAB with extra resources to support residents with debt and welfare advice Provide CABs with opportunity for greater outreach work

In each of the next two years, the partnership will be given £100,000 (a total of £200,000) to support and expand their work. This is in addition to the £163,000 a year which Huntingdonshire District Council already gives to the CAB. Sue Tusting, Manager of Huntingdon CAB, welcomed the good news and said: “This could not have come at a better time. We are already under pressure to provide for particular areas but have not had sufficient funds. Now we are in a much better position to deliver more practical help.” The organisations also help individuals with social, personal and legal advice and support on a broad range of issues including employment, welfare benefits, housing, community care, consumer law and immigration, and signpost to other support organisations. Links between downturn and community cohesion In a Local Government Assocation survey of the impact of the economic slowdown on local authorities, almost half of the shire district councils responding said that they thought that local community cohesion would slightly deteriorate over the next twelve months as a result of the economic downturn. It may be possible to analyse the Place Survey results to compare whether a relationship between recent unemployment changes and cohesion can be identified. There has been an upturn seen in the numbers of people volunteering locally, which could possibly have a positive impact on community cohesion as volunteers mix with people from different backgrounds. Crime levels At present, there is no direct link which can be made between the economic downturn and levels of crime committed locally. No increase has been noted in numbers of people committing offences.



Local views – impact on market towns “Huntingdon is well placed to ride out the storm of the current downturn, with at least eight new businesses opening in late 2008/early 2009 and at least three businesses refurbishing. Some businesses are trading successfully so it is not all doom and gloom”. Source: Katy Sismore, Huntingdon Town Centre Manager, in her monthly column in the News & Crier, 5th February 2009. Footfall surveys in Huntingdonshire’s Market Towns Huntingdonshire District Council commissioned footfall studies at the end of October/beginning of November 2008 in Huntingdon, Ramsey, St Ives and St Neots to measure the number of pedestrians in different locations across each town. Figures were extrapolated to produce estimated weekday and weekend figures and overall weekly average figures. This data is used to monitor trends in footfall and as an indicator of the health and vibrancy of our market towns. Details of how the latest results compare with previous years and the national average are below. Huntingdon: The weekly count shows a 0.8% fall compared to results for 2007. However, there was an increase in footfall between 2006 and 2007 and the latest count remains higher than the 2006 count with an overall increase of 0.7% since then. Ramsey: The weekly count shows a 7.9% fall compared to results for 2007. However, there was an increase in footfall between 2006 and 2007 and the latest count remains higher than the 2006 count with an overall increase of 14.7% since then. St Ives: The weekly count shows a 2.9% increase compared to results for 2007. There was also an increase in footfall between 2006 and 2007, with an overall increase of 13.2% since 2006. St Neots: The weekly count shows a 5.6% fall compared to results for 2007. There was also a decrease in footfall between 2006 and 2007, with an overall decrease of 8.8% since 2006. Comparison with national performance: The ATCM-Springboard High Street Index showed a 6% decrease in footfall in the year to November 2008. This suggests only Ramsey experienced a fall greater than the national average over the last year, although as a smaller town this is based on low totals. It suggests St Neots has performed slightly better than the national average, with Huntingdon and St Ives out-performing the average UK town or city. The Index also showed a decrease in footfall of almost 10% over the year from November 2006 to November 2007 which suggests that Huntingdonshire’s market towns have performed better than the national average over the two year period from 2006 to 2008.



Unemployment – Jobseekers Allowance claimant counts Figures released on February 11th show that the number of Jobseekers Allowance claimants in the district has increased by 300 in just one month from December 2008 to January 2009, which is the highest rise in one month since July 1991. The total number of claimants in the district stood at 2,290 on 8th January 2009, which is the highest total since February 1997. The number and level of claimants have doubled in the year from January 2008, with three-quarters of the increase occurring since September 2008. The table below shows recent changes:

Month JSA Claimants Rate Change in total Change in rate January 2008 1,151 1.1 February 2008 1,174 1.1 +23 - March 2008 1,208 1.1 +34 - April 2008 1,197 1.1 -11 - May 2008 1,237 1.2 +40 +0.1 June 2008 1,279 1.2 +42 - July 2008 1,310 1.2 +31 - August 2008 1,428 1.4 +118 +0.2 September 2008 1,414 1.3 -14 -0.1 October 2008 1,462 1.4 +48 +0.1 November 2008 1,756 1.7 +294 +0.3 December 2008 1,990 1.9 +234 +0.2 January 2009 2,290 2.2 +300 +0.3

The map opposite shows the unemployment by ward in Huntingdonshire. Unemployment in the district (January 2009) is highest in the wards of:

Huntingdon North ...........................4.6% St Neots Eynesbury .......................3.1% St Neots Priory Park.......................3.1% St Neots Eaton Socon....................2.7% Ramsey ..........................................2.7% Unemployment in the district is lowest in the wards of:

Alconbury and The Stukeleys ........0.4% Ellington .........................................0.7% Brampton........................................1.0% Kimbolton and Staughton...............1.3% Gransden and The Offords ............1.4% Earith..............................................1.4% The table below shows the unemployment rates in Huntingdonshire at January 2008 and January 2009 in comparison to the average for Cambridgeshire and to other districts within the county.

Unemployment

% of resident workingage people who areunemployed

0.4 - 1.01.1 - 2.02.1 - 3.13.2 - 4.6

Source: NOMIS,January 2009




It should be noted that despite recent increases, the local economy is still faring well against the national picture with the increase in overall unemployment rate for the district no higher than the rise in the overall unemployment rate for England. The unemployment rate has increased by 1.1 percentage points within Huntingdonshire and by 1.2 percentage points nationally over the twelve month period. Unemployment in Huntingdonshire remains relatively low at 2.2% and is below the national average of 3.4% for the UK and the regional average of 2.8% for the East of England. Source: NOMIS. The unemployment rates quoted here are calculated by expressing the number of unemployed (claimants of Jobseekers Allowance) in each area as a percentage of the resident working age population (m 16-64, f 16-59) in that area. Unemployment – occupations sought by claimants The highest proportion of Huntingdonshire’s claimants (40%) at January 2009 sought jobs in ‘process, plant and machine operative’ or ‘elementary’ occupations. This level was similar to the proportions of claimants seeking employment in these occupations in Cambridgeshire (40%), the Eastern region (40%) and nationally (42%). 20% of the district’s claimants at January 2009 sought jobs as ‘managers and senior officials’, in ‘professional’ occupations or in ‘associate professional and technical’ occupations. This is slightly higher than the levels in Cambridgeshire (19%), the Eastern region (16%) and nationally (14%). Huntingdonshire had below average levels of claimants seeking ‘personal service’ or ‘sales and customer service’ occupations (15% locally, compared to 17% in Cambridgeshire and 19% for the East of England and nationally). The table below compares the numbers of new claimants seeking employment in different types of occupation in the period from September 2008 to January 2009 to the number of new claimants seeking work in these occupations between September 2007 and January 2008:

Types of occupation sought by new claimants: 1-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 Total

Sept 07 – Jan 08 295 405 385 525 1,650 Sept 08 – Jan 09 600 785 470 1045 2,975 % increase: 203% 194% 122% 199% 180% Key: 1 = ‘Managers & Senior Officials’, 2 = ‘Professional Occupations’, 3 = ‘Associate Professional & Technical Occupations’, 4 = ‘Administrative & Secretarial Occupations’, 5 = ‘Skilled Trades Occupations’, 6 = ‘Personal Service Occupations’, 7 = ‘Sales & Customer Service Occupations’, 8 = ‘Process, Plant & Machine Operatives’, 9 = ‘Elementary Occupations’.

January 2008 January 2009 Jan 2008 – Jan 2009

Numbers Rate% Numbers Rate% Change in Numbers

Change in Rate

Cambridge City 1,213 1.4 1,487 1.7 +274 +0.3 East Cambridgeshire 502 1.0 964 2.0 +462 +1.0 Fenland 1,131 2.1 1,807 3.4 +676 +1.3 Huntingdonshire 1,151 1.1 2,290 2.2 +1,139 +1.1 South Cambridgeshire 644 0.8 1,179 1.4 +535 +0.6 Cambridgeshire 4,651 1.2 7,727 2.0 3,086 +0.8



Huntingdonshire’s Industrial Structure The table below shows the number of employees by industrial sector in Huntingdonshire. This demonstrates that employment in the district is not focussed on any one sector in particular.

Industry Sector Employees % of Total Health and social work 9,800 13.3 Other business activities 8,300 11.3 Education 6,500 8.9 Public administration and defence 6,400 8.7 Retail trade 6,400 8.7 Hotels and restaurants 4,300 5.8 Wholesale trade and commission trade 4,100 5.6 Construction 3,300 4.5 Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 1,900 2.6 Land transport 1,800 2.5 Computer and related activities 1,600 2.2 Recreational, cultural and sporting activities 1,400 1.9 Manufacture of furniture 1,400 1.9 Sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 1,300 1.8 Manufacture of machinery and equipment 1,200 1.7

Summary – Main Groups Employees % of Total Primary (includes agriculture, energy and water and mining) 1,400 1.9 Manufacturing 10,600 14.5 Construction 3,300 4.5 Services (includes retail and distribution, transport and communications, education, health, business and financial services) 58,100 79.1

Total 73,400 100

* Confidential Data. Source: Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Directory of Commerce & Industry 2008-2009 & CCC Research Group Huntingdonshire report, January 2009. Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.

These figures are taken from the 2006 Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). The ABI is a sample survey of businesses undertaken each September, measuring numbers of employee jobs across the UK. It is important to note that the above figures are for employees only. According to the 2006 Annual Population Survey, there were 7,800 self-employed people working in Huntingdonshire at this time. One should note that the ABI employee figures are based on numbers of jobs rather than numbers of people, and will therefore double count employees with more than one job. The ABI also estimates the numbers of establishments or businesses with employees in an area. There were an estimated 600 manufacturing companies, 800 construction firms and 5,700 service sector businesses in Huntingdonshire in 2006 and a small number of primary sector businesses. This gives a total of 7,200 business establishments in the district. Impact of the downturn on migrant workers No figures are available to show if migrant workers are leaving the district due to the downturn but national and regional reports suggest this is a possibility. Cambridgeshire ACRE’s ‘The Recession and Credit Crunch in Cambridgeshire’s Rural Economy’ briefing states that (if the number of migrant workers falls) “employers in rural areas, such as agriculture, manufacturing, retail and construction, who rely on cheap (sometimes seasonal) labour could feel significant effects of not having a ready supply of people willing to undertake low skilled jobs available”.


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