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| ‘We won’t be bottom for long’: Scarborough shrugs off label of UK low-pay capital | ‘We won’t be bottom for long’: Scarborough shrugs off label of UK low-pay capital |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| The locals call it Scarbados, the Queen of the Coast. It has an ancient castle, spectacular cliffs, two sandy beaches and some of the most irresistible fish and chips in the country. | The locals call it Scarbados, the Queen of the Coast. It has an ancient castle, spectacular cliffs, two sandy beaches and some of the most irresistible fish and chips in the country. |
| But there is a costly downside to living in Scarborough, according to a report from the Social Market Foundation, a thinktank. It found that low pay and high unemployment were common features of seaside life, along with poor health and educational attainment. | But there is a costly downside to living in Scarborough, according to a report from the Social Market Foundation, a thinktank. It found that low pay and high unemployment were common features of seaside life, along with poor health and educational attainment. |
| The North Yorkshire resort was named as the local authority with the lowest mean pay in Britain. Last year the average salary was just £19,925, compared with a national average of £28,442, according to the annual survey of hours and pay carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). | The North Yorkshire resort was named as the local authority with the lowest mean pay in Britain. Last year the average salary was just £19,925, compared with a national average of £28,442, according to the annual survey of hours and pay carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). |
| A disproportionately high level of Scarborians are self-employed or in part-time work. In Nicky’s Unisex Hairdressers, up a steep street above the amusement arcades of the seafront in the deprived Castle ward, 48-year-old owner Nicola Franklin said she would love to earn so much. “I’m self-employed. I work to live. There are no extras, no treats,” she said as she applied a purplish dye to a septuagenarian who was supplementing her state pension with a £7.50 an hour job as a cleaner. | A disproportionately high level of Scarborians are self-employed or in part-time work. In Nicky’s Unisex Hairdressers, up a steep street above the amusement arcades of the seafront in the deprived Castle ward, 48-year-old owner Nicola Franklin said she would love to earn so much. “I’m self-employed. I work to live. There are no extras, no treats,” she said as she applied a purplish dye to a septuagenarian who was supplementing her state pension with a £7.50 an hour job as a cleaner. |
| Franklin’s prices reflect her clients’ circumstances: £20 for a wash, cut and blow dry; an extra tenner for colour if you bring your own dye. One regular, Jane, blamed the government for keeping wages so low. “They should never have brought in tax credits. They’ve allowed employers to pay badly, knowing the government would top people up, when really they should be paying decent wages.” | Franklin’s prices reflect her clients’ circumstances: £20 for a wash, cut and blow dry; an extra tenner for colour if you bring your own dye. One regular, Jane, blamed the government for keeping wages so low. “They should never have brought in tax credits. They’ve allowed employers to pay badly, knowing the government would top people up, when really they should be paying decent wages.” |
| Up the street, Steve Malloy was picking his son up from primary school. He was not surprised to hear that Scarborough was languishing at the bottom of the pay league. “Scarborough’s shit,” said the 37-year-old. He works six days a week for a Chinese restaurant as a delivery driver: £6 an hour, plus a pound for every order; 50p short of the national minimum wage. | Up the street, Steve Malloy was picking his son up from primary school. He was not surprised to hear that Scarborough was languishing at the bottom of the pay league. “Scarborough’s shit,” said the 37-year-old. He works six days a week for a Chinese restaurant as a delivery driver: £6 an hour, plus a pound for every order; 50p short of the national minimum wage. |
| Most jobs were seasonal, he said, and even those were hard to get. “Employers have their pick of workers. I’m not blaming them for coming over here and stealing our jobs or anything, because they are very hard workers, but the fact is that Polish people are willing to work for less.” | Most jobs were seasonal, he said, and even those were hard to get. “Employers have their pick of workers. I’m not blaming them for coming over here and stealing our jobs or anything, because they are very hard workers, but the fact is that Polish people are willing to work for less.” |
| The majority of year-round jobs were in factories, said Malloy. McCain, of oven chips fame, has its UK headquarters in Scarborough, and was recently granted planning permission for a £100m expansion. “There are hundreds of factory jobs and they pay quite well, but the problem is that they’re all advertised through an agency, who take a cut. The actual pay might be £14 an hour, but you’ll only get half of it,” grumbled Malloy. | The majority of year-round jobs were in factories, said Malloy. McCain, of oven chips fame, has its UK headquarters in Scarborough, and was recently granted planning permission for a £100m expansion. “There are hundreds of factory jobs and they pay quite well, but the problem is that they’re all advertised through an agency, who take a cut. The actual pay might be £14 an hour, but you’ll only get half of it,” grumbled Malloy. |
| The council leader, Derek Bastiman, will hear no such negativity. A lifelong resident of what he insists is perennially sunny Scarbados – “why would I want to live anywhere else when I already live in the best place in the world?” – he is angry that his beloved town keeps being dragged down by negative headlines. Just a few weeks ago he was on the defensive after Scarborough was named a personal bankruptcy hotspot – a study he said made “outrageous” assumptions about the area’s economy. | The council leader, Derek Bastiman, will hear no such negativity. A lifelong resident of what he insists is perennially sunny Scarbados – “why would I want to live anywhere else when I already live in the best place in the world?” – he is angry that his beloved town keeps being dragged down by negative headlines. Just a few weeks ago he was on the defensive after Scarborough was named a personal bankruptcy hotspot – a study he said made “outrageous” assumptions about the area’s economy. |
| “I just don’t believe it, not knowing how far we’ve come in recent years,” he said of the ONS salary data. It is easy to see that he used to be an estate agent, as he took the Guardian on a tour to show off his greatest hits: a new swimming pool and slide complex, a campus for Coventry University, an outdoor theatre that has welcomed Elton John and Little Mix, and the multicoloured beach huts (“chalets”, in Scarborian parlance) on North Beach, which sell for a premium since their renovation. | “I just don’t believe it, not knowing how far we’ve come in recent years,” he said of the ONS salary data. It is easy to see that he used to be an estate agent, as he took the Guardian on a tour to show off his greatest hits: a new swimming pool and slide complex, a campus for Coventry University, an outdoor theatre that has welcomed Elton John and Little Mix, and the multicoloured beach huts (“chalets”, in Scarborian parlance) on North Beach, which sell for a premium since their renovation. |
| He parked outside Scarborough’s shiny new university technological college (UTC) and whipped out his iPad to show that two years ago the site was a disused car park with a burnt-out car at its centre. A collaboration with the University of Hull, the UTC aims to prepare 14- to 18-year-olds for the swath of engineering and design jobs expected to emerge in the coming years. | He parked outside Scarborough’s shiny new university technological college (UTC) and whipped out his iPad to show that two years ago the site was a disused car park with a burnt-out car at its centre. A collaboration with the University of Hull, the UTC aims to prepare 14- to 18-year-olds for the swath of engineering and design jobs expected to emerge in the coming years. |
| Scarborough already has some engineering prowess, notably at Plaxton, a coach manufacturer. But a recent decision to site a £1.7bn potash mine on the moors above Whitby – part of Scarborough local authority – is expected to bring 2,500 direct and indirect jobs to the area by 2020. Robert Goodwill, the local Tory MP, is optimistic that the mine, which will dig up valuable fertiliser, will make a real difference. “These miners can earn over £50,000 a year for shift work,” he said. | Scarborough already has some engineering prowess, notably at Plaxton, a coach manufacturer. But a recent decision to site a £1.7bn potash mine on the moors above Whitby – part of Scarborough local authority – is expected to bring 2,500 direct and indirect jobs to the area by 2020. Robert Goodwill, the local Tory MP, is optimistic that the mine, which will dig up valuable fertiliser, will make a real difference. “These miners can earn over £50,000 a year for shift work,” he said. |
| Last year Scarborough was identified as a social mobility “coldspot” and given extra government support to improve educational standards. Along with Blackpool and four other areas, it can access an innovation fund worth £75m over three years, focused on supporting teachers and school leaders. | Last year Scarborough was identified as a social mobility “coldspot” and given extra government support to improve educational standards. Along with Blackpool and four other areas, it can access an innovation fund worth £75m over three years, focused on supporting teachers and school leaders. |
| Transport is another challenge for Scarborough. There is one train an hour to York, the nearest city, just over 40 miles away, and the A64 road is single-lane in parts. Poor public transport condemns many to unemployment benefits. Jennifer Byrne, 21, who has three children, said there was no shortage of poorly paid care work – Scarborough has an ageing population and continues to be a magnet for retirees – but that as a non-driver she couldn’t get to clients. | Transport is another challenge for Scarborough. There is one train an hour to York, the nearest city, just over 40 miles away, and the A64 road is single-lane in parts. Poor public transport condemns many to unemployment benefits. Jennifer Byrne, 21, who has three children, said there was no shortage of poorly paid care work – Scarborough has an ageing population and continues to be a magnet for retirees – but that as a non-driver she couldn’t get to clients. |
| Goodwill, a farmer and boss of an environmentally friendly funeral firm as well as an MP and education minister, sees positives in the isolation. “We are 40 miles away from everywhere else – Middlesbrough, York, Hull – which means we have to be quite self-sufficient. In some ways it’s quite good news for local businesses in the service sector because they don’t get competition coming in.” | Goodwill, a farmer and boss of an environmentally friendly funeral firm as well as an MP and education minister, sees positives in the isolation. “We are 40 miles away from everywhere else – Middlesbrough, York, Hull – which means we have to be quite self-sufficient. In some ways it’s quite good news for local businesses in the service sector because they don’t get competition coming in.” |
| Unsurprisingly, he is optimistic about the future. “I think it’s definitely moving in the right direction, because our reliance on tourism, which is low-paid and seasonal, will diminish and certainly the sort of money that people who will be working in the mining sector are likely to be pulling in will help, not just their own salaries but also the trickle down – they’re going to be buying new cars from local car dealerships, going to some of the best restaurants and buying new kitchens. We won’t be at the bottom of the pay league for much longer.” | Unsurprisingly, he is optimistic about the future. “I think it’s definitely moving in the right direction, because our reliance on tourism, which is low-paid and seasonal, will diminish and certainly the sort of money that people who will be working in the mining sector are likely to be pulling in will help, not just their own salaries but also the trickle down – they’re going to be buying new cars from local car dealerships, going to some of the best restaurants and buying new kitchens. We won’t be at the bottom of the pay league for much longer.” |