§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why Blackburn was regarded as an obvious case for designation under the Inner Urban Areas Act; what problems Blackburn has that are different from those faced by Accrington, Burnley and Pendle; what areas in Blackburn are special by comparison with areas in these other towns in North-East Lancashire; and if he will list them.
§ Mr. Guy BarnettThe table below sets out indicators which were considered in the selection of designated districts for Blackburn, Burnley, Hyndburn and Pendle. While all four districts have significant problems, those in Blackburn are on a substantially greater scale.
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Social/Demographic Physical Local Authority (population) Estimated population loss (gain) Seriously over-crowded New Common-wealth population Single parent families Pensioners Unemployed Economic Socio-economic groups on low incomes Free school meals Lacking basic housing amenities Derelict land (ha) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (J) (k) (l) Blackburn (141,100) … (1,000) (0.7%) 583 1.2% 6,631 4.7% 1,990 4.0% 24,647 17.8% 4,212 6.2% 20,990 14.9% — 17,752 35.6% 185 1.3% Burnley (96,592) … 2,600 2.7% 309 0.9% 966 1.0% 1,830 5.3% 16,997 17.9% 2,249 4.5% 14,610 15.1% — 11,933 34.4% 183 1.6% Pendle (85,416) … (100) (0.1%) 248 0.8% 2,392 2.8% 1,390 4.3% 17,327 20.4% 1,557 — 12,030 14.1% — 8,890 27.7% 96 0.8% Hyndburn (80,632) … (600) (0.7%) 214 0.8% 1,209 1.5% 1,100 3.7% 14,244 17.8% 1,602 — 11,970 14.8% — 8,332 28.3% 208 2.8%