UK health and wealth offset by house prices

The figures showed that the lowest disposable income per capita was in the north east of England, at £13,560 per head., where the statistics also showed that unemployment is at its highest, at 10.3 per cent.

However, house price growth remained steady across the north of England, helping to keep the overall house price rise at 3.8 per cent year-on-year, despite significant rises in property prices across London and the south east.

Commenting on the rise in house price figures, Paul Hearnden, adviser for Surrey-based Hearnden Associates, said: “This trend has been assisted by government schemes such as Help to Buy. A positive spin in the press has also helped people be more confident about buying property.”

However, Mr Hearnden said he had concerns about Help to Buy, adding: “It is artificially accelerating the market in the south east, which could spell danger, as it could over-heat the property market. This is something we could all do without.”

The ONS statistics also showed nemployment is at its lowest level in the east of England, at 5.9 per cent, and gross disposable income is highest in the south east, at just over £18,000.

The statistics suggested that people in the south of England were more likely to live longer and remain economically active for longer, with the average male life expectancy roughly 80 years in the south east, compared with 75 for Scotland and 77 for the north of England.

House Price Growth:

The year-on-year increase reflected growth of:

4.1% in England

1.1% in Northern Ireland

1% in Wales

and a fall of 0.7% in Scotland.

Life Expectancy