Is Cambridge Truly a Poor City? An In-Depth Look

When one thinks of Cambridge, images of academic excellence, historic colleges, and a thriving high-tech economy often spring to mind. Home to one of the world's leading universities, boasting 90 Nobel Prize winners, and a globally significant cluster of bio-medical businesses providing over 57,000 jobs, Cambridge projects an undeniable aura of prosperity. Indeed, the city enjoys the sixth highest average weekly earnings in the UK, and its economy has proven remarkably resilient even during economic downturns. However, beneath this gleaming surface lies a more complex and often surprising reality: Cambridge is consistently identified as the most unequal city in the UK, a stark contrast to its affluent image.

The Paradox of Prosperity: Wealth and Disparity

The Centre for Cities report has repeatedly highlighted Cambridge as the UK's most unequal city, a finding that challenges widespread perceptions. While the city's economic dynamism is undeniable, the benefits of this prosperity have not been uniformly distributed among its residents. This creates a significant divide, where high earners coexist with communities struggling with fundamental economic challenges.

Evidence shows that a substantial proportion of people in Cambridge are experiencing poverty, while many others are at risk due to factors such as low wages and rapidly increasing housing costs. Consider these stark figures:

• One in ten households in Cambridge earns less than £16,518 per year. In a city with some of the highest living costs in the UK, this income level places significant strain on families.
• Poverty is not evenly spread; it is concentrated in particular wards and neighbourhoods, primarily in the North and East of the city. These areas often remain invisible to those who primarily interact with the more affluent parts of Cambridge.
• Perhaps most alarmingly, there is a life expectancy gap of around 10 years between the highest-ranked and lowest-ranked neighbourhoods within the city. This disparity underscores the profound impact of socio-economic factors on health outcomes.

Social Mobility: A Hidden Challenge

Despite Cambridge having the highest level of qualifications of any city in the UK, with two-thirds of residents holding higher-level qualifications, data suggests that social mobility remains a significant issue. The city ranks fifth lowest in the Social Mobility Index nationally, based on outcomes for young people in terms of educational attainment, employment, and housing market access.

A striking example of this challenge is seen in educational performance: less than a third of pupils receiving Free School Meals achieved GCSE 5+ grades A*-C, compared to two-thirds of children not eligible for free school meals in the city. This gap indicates that despite the overall high educational attainment, opportunities are not equally accessible, perpetuating cycles of disadvantage.

Addressing the Divide: Cambridge City Council's Vision

In light of these deep-seated inequalities, Cambridge City Council has adopted a clear and ambitious vision: 'One Cambridge – Fair for All'. This initiative aims to harmonise the city's economic dynamism and prosperity with social justice and equality. The council's commitment to tackling poverty is long-standing, with an Anti-Poverty Strategy in place since 2014.

Since the strategy's inception, there have been noticeable improvements in several key areas, demonstrating the impact of targeted interventions:

• Improvements in earnings for low-income households, providing much-needed financial relief.
• A reduction in housing benefit claimants, suggesting improved financial stability for some residents.
• A decrease in overall unemployment, particularly among young people aged 18 to 24 who are not in employment, education, or training (NEETs).
• A reduction in fuel poverty, indicating that more households can afford to heat their homes adequately.

Key Initiatives and Progress

Over the past three years, the council has made significant progress across various strands of work designed to alleviate poverty and promote equality:

• Promoting the Living Wage: The council leads by example, paying all its staff at least the Living Wage, and actively promotes this standard to other employers across the city. This ensures that even those in lower-paying jobs can earn enough to meet basic living costs in a high-expense city.
• Reducing Utility Bills: Initiatives include promoting energy and water-saving measures and operating a collective energy switching scheme, helping residents on low incomes reduce their household utility expenses.
• Enhancing Digital Skills: Recognising the importance of digital literacy in the modern world, the council helps low-income individuals get online and develop the necessary digital skills for job searching, online applications, and accessing essential public services.
• Supporting Financial Inclusion: By supporting credit unions, the council provides vulnerable residents with safe, affordable financial services, helping them avoid exploitative loan sharks and high-interest lenders.
• Expanding Advice Services: Comprehensive advice services ensure that residents are aware of the benefits they are entitled to and can access expert guidance on money and debt management, crucial for financial stability.
• Improving Health Outcomes: Initiatives include providing cookery skills classes for low-income families and free swimming lessons for children from low-income backgrounds, contributing to better health and well-being.
• Providing Affordable Housing: The council is actively constructing new council-owned homes and making them available at affordable rent levels, directly addressing the critical issue of rapidly increasing housing costs.
• Increasing Apprenticeship Opportunities: By increasing apprenticeships within the council and collaborating with partners in the Greater Cambridge Partnership, the aim is to create more opportunities for skills development and employment across the city.

The Path Forward: A Strategy for Inclusive Growth

Cambridge City Council is currently developing its Anti-Poverty Strategy for the next three years, building on past successes and adapting to evolving challenges. A recent Anti-Poverty Summit brought together voluntary, community, and public sector organisations to share perspectives and progress.

A key focus for the upcoming strategy is not only tackling poverty but also addressing inequality and fostering inclusive growth. Inclusive growth is about creating opportunities for all segments of the population and ensuring that the dividends of increased prosperity, both monetary and non-monetary, are distributed fairly across society. This involves developing existing and new partnerships, including with local businesses, to share the responsibility of preventing and tackling poverty and inequality.

Understanding Inequality: The Gini Coefficient

The Centre for Cities' reports utilise the Gini coefficient to measure equality. This metric provides a value between zero and one, where zero represents total equality (everyone has the same income) and one represents maximal inequality (one person has all the income). Cambridge's Gini coefficient of 0.460 places it at the top of the list for inequality in the UK, a position it has held for the second year in a row.

UK's Least Equal Cities (2018 Report)

This trend shows that the most unequal cities are predominantly located in the Greater South East, while the most equal cities tend to be in the north of England or Wales, often characterised by weaker economies, lower average incomes, and fewer knowledge-based jobs.

Cambridge's Broader Urban Landscape: Strengths and Challenges

While the focus on inequality is critical, it's important to acknowledge other facets of Cambridge's urban landscape. For instance, data from MoneySupermarket has indicated that two areas of Cambridge, CB5 and CB4, were among the most burgled places in the UK, ranking second and ninth respectively. This highlights other challenges that can affect residents' quality of life.

However, the Centre for Cities report also underscores Cambridge's significant economic strengths beyond its current wealth. The city is predicted to have the highest growth in high-skill private sector occupations by 2030, with almost half of all expected new jobs being in these highly demanded professions. This suggests a robust future job market for those with the right qualifications.

Job Security and Qualifications Comparison

With 66.8% of its residents holding high qualifications (National Vocational Qualification Level 4 or equivalent), Cambridge boasts the highest percentage in the UK, and a mere 4.4% with no formal qualifications. This highly skilled workforce is a significant asset, contributing to the city's economic resilience and future growth prospects.

Councillor's Perspective: A City Determined to Change

Councillor Lewis Herbert, leader of Cambridge City Council, offers a crucial perspective on the city's inequality. He explains that Cambridge is scored as unequal due to the sheer volume of high earners coexisting with a significant number of employers, including some colleges, paying staff less than the Real Living Wage. This forces lower-income staff to contend with the city's notoriously high housing rents, creating immense financial pressure.

Despite this, Councillor Herbert emphasises the city's many strengths and its proactive approach to tackling the root causes of inequality. He highlights that Cambridge is building new and affordable housing faster than almost any other city in the UK. Furthermore, the robust local economy and focus on skills development mean Cambridge has the lowest unemployment rate among over 60 cities, offering ample opportunities for individuals to advance in both their careers and incomes. The council remains steadfast in its determination to create 'One Cambridge fair for all' by pressing employers to pay fair wages and continuing to build social housing for those most in need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Why is Cambridge considered unequal despite its wealth and high average earnings?

Cambridge's inequality stems from a significant disparity in income distribution. While it has a high concentration of very high earners, particularly in its booming tech and bio-medical sectors, a substantial portion of the population earns significantly less, often below the income needed to comfortably afford the city's exceptionally high cost of living, especially housing. This creates a large gap between the wealthiest and the poorest residents, leading to its ranking as the most unequal city.

Q2: What is the Cambridge City Council doing to combat poverty and inequality?

The Cambridge City Council has had an Anti-Poverty Strategy since 2014, with a vision of 'One Cambridge – Fair for All'. Key initiatives include promoting and paying the Living Wage, helping residents reduce utility bills, providing digital skills training, supporting credit unions, expanding advice services for benefits and debt management, funding health initiatives, constructing new affordable council-owned homes, and increasing apprenticeship opportunities. They are also developing a new strategy focused on inclusive growth and broader partnerships.

Q3: How does Cambridge compare to other UK cities in terms of job security and qualifications?

Cambridge demonstrates strong job security, with less than 15% of jobs at risk by 2030, significantly lower than many other UK cities where almost 30% of jobs face risk. The city also boasts the highest percentage of residents with high qualifications (66.8%) in the UK, indicating a highly skilled workforce. This combination positions Cambridge well for future economic growth, particularly in high-skill private sector occupations.

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