Bradford has its work cut out to improve the finances of its residents, workforce and economy, with a new report finding that the city performs poorly across innovation, wages, employment, skills, living standards and more.
The Centre for Cities paper, Outlook 2025, which covers 63 of the nation’s largest cities and towns, has Bradford listed as one of the top ten worst-performing cities across many key areas.
According to the report, Bradford is one of ten with the:
lowest new economy firms per 10,000 of the working age population
highest unemployment benefit claimant count
lowest employment rate
highest percentage of people with no formal qualifications
lowest gross disposable household income per capita
lowest average weekly workplace earnings
With regards to wages, the divide between the likes of Bradford, Exeter and Middlesborough, three of the ten cities with the lowest wages, and London, Reading and Milton Keynes, three of the ten cities with the highest wages, is stark.
“Average annual salaries in the Greater South East are £12,800 higher – and in London nearly £20,000 higher – than in places with the lowest pay such as Burnley, Huddersfield and Middlesbrough,” the Centre for Cities noted.
“This means that by August the average worker in London has earned what the average worker in Burnley will take a year to earn. The pay divide primarily results from some cities having far more ‘cutting edge’ private sector jobs and businesses than others.”
The report comes at a time when Bradford Council’s executive continues to focus its efforts on delivering significant spending reductions as it continues to grapple with a longstanding financial headache that had it considering issuing a Section 114 Notice in late 2023.
One of its latest and controversial suggestions is to increase council tax way higher than the maximum 4.99% (up to 14.99%). Any higher than this usually requires a local referendum. Bradford Council wants to bypass this, citing the fact that it has been given exceptional financial support (EFS) by the government.
“This allows Bradford to borrow money to make the changes needed to achieve financial sustainability,” the council explained earlier this month.
“As part of this, the government has set out criteria that allow councils to request permission to raise council tax higher than the 4.99% limit set for most councils. Bradford meets these criteria, which include being in EFS, having high levels of disadvantage, low council tax now and needing to provide support to vulnerable residents.”