A NEW report has painted a mixed picture of life in Newport following a decade of austerity.

The Centre for Cities report looks at a number of measures at cities throughout the UK, including how much public spending has increased or dropped, the number of people in work, house prices, pollution and others.

Following 10 years of spending cuts by the UK Government, the report showed funding for public services in Newport fell by 4.8 per cent between the 2009-2010 and 2017-2018 financial years - representing around £106 less spent per person. But this decrease is far smaller than the national average of 14.3 per cent over the same period.

But, at the same time, spending on social care in the city over the same period was up 10.2 per cent - above the national average of 7.8 per cent. The report put the general UK-wide increase down to an ageing population.

And there was other good news for Newport.

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The city ranked fourth in the UK for the number of new businesses starting in 2017 compared with the number which closed the same year - with 79.8 new companies started per 10,000 people, while 34.3 per 10,000 closed.

Newport also saw the fourth-highest increase in house prices in the country between 2017 and 2018 - with homebuyers paying an average of 6.7 per cent more. The average house price in the city in 2017 was £164,200 - but a year later this was up £10,900 to £175,100.

Meanwhile, the city ranked only slightly below average for the number of people with high-level qualifications, at 34.6 per cent in 2017 compared with a national average of 38.4 per cent.

But Newport fared less well for productivity, with each worker generating £45,900 for the economy in 2017 - well below the national average of £57,600, and placing the city only just outside the bottom 10 cities in the UK.

Newport also had the sixth-highest number of working-age people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in the UK, with 3.7 per cent on the benefit in November 2018, compared to a national average of 2.3 per cent.

And pollution figures were even worse, with Newport ranking third highest in the UK for CO2 emissions, with 7.1 tonnes of the chemical emitted per person in 2016.

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Digital connectivity figures were also poor, with Newport ranked ninth-lowest in the UK for the number of properties with access to superfast broadband, at 56.7 per cent.

Andrew Carter, Centre for Cities chief executive, said: “Cities drive the Welsh economy and, while austerity has improved local government efficiency, its sheer scale has placed public services in Wales’ cities under huge pressure."

He added: “Councils have managed as best they can, but the continued singling-out of local government for cuts cannot continue. There is a very real risk that many of our largest councils will in the near future become little more than social care providers.

“If, as the prime minister has said, austerity is coming to an end, then the spending review must address the financial challenges facing the Wales’ cities.

"But this does not just mean more money. Giving local authorities more power to decide how they raise and spend funds, providing more flexible multi-year budgets and reforming the way social care is paid for also need to be urgently introduced.”

View the report at centreforcities.org