Wales plays catch-up with UK as country’s financial health improves

·       The financial health gap between Wales and the rest of the UK is gradually narrowing

·       Gap narrowed from 10% in 2017 to 6% in 2023

·       Constituencies with high numbers of ordinary working families have seen the smallest recovery in first half of 2023

·       Areas with higher rates of long-term sickness, disability and social housing are recovering faster

Over the last five years, Wales has been slowly closing the gap in financial health between the country and the rest of the UK. In that time, the gap has narrowed by more than a third.

Commenting on the data, Lowell’s UK CEO, John Pears, said:

“Wales has been on a steady path of post-pandemic recovery, but progress has been slow. Urban areas like Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham still are consistently worse off than the rest of the nation and the UK. At the same time, rural areas like Montgomeryshire are faring comparatively much better.

“With variations within the UK and within countries, we need to think about what we can do, at an industry and government level, to provide support to those who need it most.”

UK-wide trends

Ordinary working families are bearing the burden of the cost-of-living squeeze. New data from Lowell’s Financial Vulnerability Index shows areas with a high proportion of working families have seen a worsening in financial health compared with the UK as a whole in the first half of 2023.

Lowell has identified 133 constituencies which are more financially vulnerable than the UK average. These constituencies are likely to have high numbers of:

• Full-time workers
• Families with children
• Workers in retail
• Workers in manufacturing
• People with no qualifications

Analysis shows areas with high home ownership have also seen limited improvements in financial health, while areas with high levels of social renting are seeing a strong recovery.

Full data set, trends report and interactive tool

A more extensive guide to the trends in financial vulnerability affecting Wales is attached.

The Financial Vulnerability Index is an innovative tool to measure and track financial resilience, nationally and locally, across the UK. Created by Lowell and the Urban Institute, and provided by Opinium, the index brings together publicly available measures and Lowell’s proprietary data to give a clear picture of financial vulnerability in the UK.

The full tool can be accessed here. The data can be downloaded for free here and a summary of the key findings are available here.