North West (United Kingdom)

Merseyside

The North West of England, has an area of 14,165 square kilometres and with 6.9 million inhabitants has the second largest population of the United Kingdom's regions and is three times more densely populated than the European average. Our £60billion economy is larger than five European member states - Republic of Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Greece.

Merseyside is home to 1.4 million people, 470,000 of which live in the City of Liverpool, and the remainder in the adjoining areas of Wirral, Knowsley, Birkenhead, St Helens and Sefton. The area is famed for being the birthplace of the Beatles, the home of the Grand National, the River Mersey and of course, the warmth and good humour of its people.

Facts about Merseyside

•  Merseyside covers 645 square kilometres
• The average house price in Merseyside is 185,000 euros
• The population in 2002 was 1,361,000 of which 441,000 live in the City of Liverpool
• Merseyside’s population fell 9,9% in the period 1982-2002
• An average of 2,110 people live per square kilometre in Merseyside. The average for the UK is 244 and 480 for the North West of England.
• Merseyside is home to some of the UK’s most deprived communities
• In Merseyside and Halton, 38% of people are in families dependent on income support compared to the English level of 24% and the North West level of 30%

Government

There is no elected regional government for the North West. However, a number of organisations have regional responsibilities:

• The North West Regional Assembly is a partnership that works to promote the economic, environmental and social well-being of the North West of England.
• The Northwest Regional Development Agency is responsible for the sustainable economic development and regeneration of England's North West and has five key priorities business development, regeneration, skills and employment, infrastructure and image.
• Government Office North West represents the interests of central government in the region.

Economy

The North West economy is rooted in chemical, textile, engineering, food and drink manufacturing industries which, together, account for 75% of the region's manufacturing output. Tourism has an increasing role to play - over 15million tourists annually experience all that the North West has to offer.

Merseyside’s labour market

• In 2001-2002, 71,7% of the population was economically active compared to 75,5% in the North West of England
• 60,4% are of working age (16 to pension age)
• In 2002, 577,000 were in employment
• In 2001-2002, the ILO unemployment rate within in Merseyside was 7,7% (North West 5,2%)

Business development

In 2002, Merseyside has an economy worth 22,3 billion euros
In March 2002, industry in Merseyside was distributed according the following classification:                               

Health System

The National Health Service (NHS) was set up in 1948 and is now the largest organisation in Europe. It is recognised as one of the best health services in the world by the World Health Organisation. It is funded entirely by the British taxpayer. Between 2000-02 the Infant Mortality Rate in Merseyside was 3.7% (5.8% North West).

For more information go to http://www.nhs.uk/

Cheshire & Merseyside Partnerships for Health (ChaMPs)

ChaMPs is the public health network for Cheshire and Merseyside working with the NHS, local authorities (municipalities), voluntary organisations and other statutory and non-statutory organisations. Its function is to maximise the sharing of public health expertise and use of specialist knowledge while minimising duplication of effort. ChaMPs also runs a highly regarded training programme for the professional development of public health specialists and practitioners.