A ‘health check’ on how Yorkshire and Humber is performing compared to other English regions has confirmed that overall Yorkshire is becoming a better place to live – but there are major challenges ahead.

Positive changes double the number of areas that Yorkshire has worsened, with particular improvement found in areas such as jobs, with employment in Yorkshire rising twice as fast as the national average between the late 90s and 2005 (when the rate stood at nearly 75%.) Other improvements include better air and water quality, higher waste recycling rates, and more people passing A’ levels. Life expectancy rose to 75.8 years for men and 80.4 for women – around a year longer than five years ago.

There is improvement to made however. Particularly in the area of transport, where people are travelling is increasing year on year, and the trends seen nationally, such as climate change and obesity levels. More than 1 person in 5 in the region is now obese.

Speaking about the launch of the findings, Les Newby, Director of Yorkshire Futures said,

Yorkshire and Humber is becoming a better place to live. That’s a fact. The task now is to ensure that in solving today’s problems, we don’t create new problems tomorrow – like rising congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. The report and its launch are a chance to celebrate progress, and to think about what type of region we want to be in the future and how we get there.