Profile of Tameside

The profile of the Borough in terms of its population and economy is a key driver of the scope and type of services the Council provides to local people. Set out below are some key facts which provide some detail.

Population

The demographic of Tameside is similar to that in the rest of England, although it has slightly more under 16’s than average and slightly fewer older people than average. It is also slightly less diverse than the England average. Office for National Statistics Mid-Year Estimates for 2018 show that Tameside had a total estimated population of 225,197. Within Tameside’s population:

45,292 were aged 0-15 years (20.11% of Tameside’s population);

140,194 were aged 16-64 (62.25% of Tameside’s population); 

39,711 were aged 65 or over (17.63% of Tameside’s population).

Tameside has a slightly higher proportion of residents aged under 16 (20.11% compared to 19.20% England overall) and fewer people aged 65 or over (17.63% compared to 18.18% England overall). ONS Subnational Population Projections from 2018 indicate that Tameside’s population is projected to increase to around 228,900 (c.1.6%) by 2025. 

Much of this growth is due to projected increases in the number of people aged 65 and over; a projected 18.36% increase in this age group between 2018 and 2025. Clearly, this increase in the 65+ population will continue to increase demand for social care services in the future.

According to the 2011 Census, the majority of Tameside’s residents belong to the White ethnic group (90.9% compared to 85.4% England overall). Within Tameside’s population:

Of the 90.9% of residents who belong to the White ethnic group, the majority (88.5%) are White British; 

The second largest ethnic group in Tameside is Asian/Asian British (6.6%); of which Pakistani (2.2%) and Bangladeshi (2.0%) are the largest groups.

Deprivation

The Government collates a variety of economic and social measures to create indices of relative affluence and deprivation based on geographical areas. These help the Council to target services to our most vulnerable residents, as well as helping to identify areas of lesser need where early intervention will help prevent costs at a later date. According to the English Indices of Deprivation

2019:

Of the 141 areas in Tameside, 11 of these fall within the most deprived 5% nationally and a further 18 fall within the most deprived 10% nationally;

In total, approximately 17.0% of Tameside residents live in income-deprived households;

Of those children aged 0-15, 10.6% live in income-deprived households (Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index); 

Of those residents aged 65 and over, 6.4% live in income-deprived households (Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index).

Based on the number of residents that fall within the most deprived 5% and 10% nationally for a particular indicator.

Education

In Tameside, 63% of pupils (58% of boys and 69% of girls) met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 in 2019 compared to 65% nationally (61% of boys and 70% of girls); 

63% of school children (61% of boys and 65% of girls) in Tameside achieved a standard 9-4 pass in English and Maths at GCSE level in 2019 compared to 65% nationally (61% of boys and 69% of girls).

Economy

The median annual income for a full time worker in Tameside in 2019 was £25,769. This is lower than both the North West median of £28,487 and England of £30,611

The claimant count as a proportion of the working age population in Tameside in May 2020 was 8.1% (an increase of 5,960 people from May 2019). This rate is higher than the England average of 6.5%. The claimant count increased for both men and women over the year to this point.

3.8% of young people aged 16 and 17 in Tameside were not in education, training or employment (NEET) averaged across December 2019 to February 2020, a fall from 4.8% over the same period the previous year.

The Borough hosts over 7,667 business addresses, with a combined rateable valuation of over £148.7 million at 1 April 2020.

Housing

There are 103,154 dwellings on the council tax base in Tameside as of September 2019.

At the time of the Census in 2011 there were 94,953 households, of which 60,558 (63.8%) are privately-owned, 20,438 (21.5%) are social-rented, 12,573 (13.2%) are privately rented and 1,384 (1.5%) in shared ownership or other.

According to the 2018 Sub-Regional Fuel Poverty Data, 10.7% of Tameside households are in fuel poverty.

Health

Health and wellbeing in Tameside is generally worse than England with heart disease, stroke, cancer and liver disease being significant issues.