Innovation and growth
Published: 11 September 2024
This index shows which local authorities in the UK offer more or less favourable conditions to help promote innovation and economic growth – this is measured by each area’s broadband speed, business spending on research and development, and percentage of residents with postgraduate qualifications.
Visualisation
‘Index of innovation and growth’, by local authority (UK)
203 local authority areas in the UK are put into 5 groups – from ‘most favourable’ to ‘least favourable’ conditions – based on their ‘index of innovation and growth’ composite scores. The categories are not equally sized – the middle category is larger because most local authorities are very near the average.
Data
| Region | Index of 'innovation and growth' ('Z-scores') | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen city | 0.81 | Middle Group |
| Aberdeenshire | -0.81 | Middle Group |
| Angus | -0.91 | Middle Group |
| Argyll and Bute Islands | -2.41 | Least Favourable |
| Barking and Dagenham | -0.79 | Middle Group |
| Barnet | 1.06 | Favourable |
| Barnsley | -1.09 | Unfavourable |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 0.69 | Middle Group |
| Bedford | 0.77 | Middle Group |
| Bexley | -0.76 | Middle Group |
| Birmingham | 0.49 | Middle Group |
| Blackburn with Darwen | -0.35 | Middle Group |
| Blackpool | -0.39 | Middle Group |
| Blaenau Gwent | -1.92 | Least Favourable |
| Bolton | -0.28 | Middle Group |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 0.13 | Middle Group |
| Bracknell Forest | 1.27 | Favourable |
| Bradford | -0.30 | Middle Group |
| Brent | 0.82 | Middle Group |
| Bridgend | -0.89 | Middle Group |
| Brighton and Hove | 1.19 | Favourable |
| Bristol | 1.73 | Favourable |
| Bromley | 0.25 | Middle Group |
| Buckinghamshire | 0.97 | Middle Group |
| Bury | -0.24 | Middle Group |
| Caerphilly | -1.24 | Unfavourable |
| Calderdale | -0.79 | Middle Group |
| Cambridgeshire county council | 1.31 | Favourable |
| Camden and City of London | 3.07 | Most Favourable |
| Cardiff | 1.07 | Favourable |
| Carmarthenshire county council | -1.21 | Unfavourable |
| Central Bedfordshire | 0.98 | Middle Group |
| Ceredigion county council | -1.22 | Unfavourable |
| Cheshire East | 1.23 | Favourable |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 1.61 | Favourable |
| Edinburgh city | 1.37 | Favourable |
| Clackmannanshire | -0.35 | Middle Group |
| Conwy | -0.48 | Middle Group |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | -1.73 | Least Favourable |
| Coventry | 0.51 | Middle Group |
| Croydon | 0.02 | Middle Group |
| Cumbria county council | -0.99 | Middle Group |
| Darlington | -0.22 | Middle Group |
| Denbighshire county council | -0.89 | Middle Group |
| Derby | 0.93 | Middle Group |
| Derbyshire county council | -0.07 | Middle Group |
| Devon county council | -0.75 | Middle Group |
| Doncaster | -0.92 | Middle Group |
| Dorset | -0.93 | Middle Group |
| Dudley | 0.05 | Middle Group |
| Dumfries and Galloway | -2.21 | Least Favourable |
| Dundee city | 0.67 | Middle Group |
| Durham county council | -1.01 | Unfavourable |
| Ealing | 1.34 | Favourable |
| East Ayrshire | -1.55 | Unfavourable |
| East Dunbartonshire | 0.40 | Middle Group |
| East Lothian | 0.24 | Middle Group |
| East Renfrewshire | 0.63 | Middle Group |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | -0.38 | Middle Group |
| East Sussex county council | -0.12 | Middle Group |
| Enfield | -0.50 | Middle Group |
| Essex county council | 0.14 | Middle Group |
| Falkirk | 0.08 | Middle Group |
| Fife | -0.07 | Middle Group |
| Flintshire county council | -0.55 | Middle Group |
| Gateshead | -0.38 | Middle Group |
| Glasgow | 0.27 | Middle Group |
| Gloucestershire county council | 0.40 | Middle Group |
| Greenwich | -0.22 | Middle Group |
| Gwynedd | -1.39 | Unfavourable |
| Hackney | 1.07 | Favourable |
| Halton | -0.29 | Middle Group |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 2.51 | Most Favourable |
| Hampshire county council | 0.39 | Middle Group |
| Haringey | 0.91 | Middle Group |
| Harrow | 0.98 | Middle Group |
| Hartlepool | -0.40 | Middle Group |
| Havering | -0.90 | Middle Group |
| Herefordshire | 0.36 | Middle Group |
| Hertfordshire county council | 1.10 | Favourable |
| Highland | -1.84 | Least Favourable |
| Hillingdon | 0.67 | Middle Group |
| Hounslow | 1.14 | Favourable |
| Inverclyde | -0.50 | Middle Group |
| Isle of Anglesey | -1.52 | Unfavourable |
| Isle of Wight | 0.17 | Middle Group |
| Islington | 1.49 | Favourable |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 2.65 | Most Favourable |
| Kent county council | 0.04 | Middle Group |
| Hull | -0.11 | Middle Group |
| Kingston upon Thames | 0.57 | Middle Group |
| Kirklees | -0.28 | Middle Group |
| Knowsley | -0.05 | Middle Group |
| Lambeth | 1.11 | Favourable |
| Lancashire county council | -0.10 | Middle Group |
| Leeds | 0.27 | Middle Group |
| Leicester | 0.36 | Middle Group |
| Leicestershire county council | -0.18 | Middle Group |
| Lewisham | 0.84 | Middle Group |
| Lincolnshire county council | -1.29 | Unfavourable |
| Liverpool | 0.38 | Middle Group |
| Luton | 0.97 | Middle Group |
| Manchester | 0.18 | Middle Group |
| Medway | 0.18 | Middle Group |
| Merthyr Tydfil | -1.20 | Unfavourable |
| Merton | 0.48 | Middle Group |
| Middlesbrough | -0.19 | Middle Group |
| Midlothian | 0.17 | Middle Group |
| Milton Keynes | 1.27 | Favourable |
| Monmouthshire county council | -0.10 | Middle Group |
| Moray | -1.78 | Least Favourable |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | -2.65 | Least Favourable |
| Neath Port Talbot | -1.10 | Unfavourable |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 0.43 | Middle Group |
| Newham | 0.39 | Middle Group |
| Newport | 0.12 | Middle Group |
| North Ayrshire | -1.52 | Unfavourable |
| North East Lincolnshire | -0.52 | Middle Group |
| North Lanarkshire | -0.33 | Middle Group |
| North Lincolnshire | -0.58 | Middle Group |
| North Northamptonshire | -0.13 | Middle Group |
| North Tyneside | 0.08 | Middle Group |
| North Yorkshire county council | -0.33 | Middle Group |
| Northern Ireland | 0.33 | Middle Group |
| Northumberland county council | -0.91 | Middle Group |
| Norfolk county council | 0.07 | Middle Group |
| Nottingham | 0.72 | Middle Group |
| Nottinghamshire county council | 0.45 | Middle Group |
| Oldham | -0.44 | Middle Group |
| Orkney Islands | -2.36 | Least Favourable |
| Oxfordshire county council | 1.83 | Favourable |
| Pembrokeshire county council | -1.79 | Least Favourable |
| Perth and Kinross | -0.58 | Middle Group |
| Peterborough | 0.89 | Middle Group |
| Plymouth | -0.54 | Middle Group |
| Portsmouth | 0.86 | Middle Group |
| Powys county council | -1.10 | Unfavourable |
| Reading | 1.60 | Favourable |
| Redbridge | -0.37 | Middle Group |
| Redcar and Cleveland | -0.39 | Middle Group |
| Renfrewshire | -0.06 | Middle Group |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | -1.39 | Unfavourable |
| Richmond upon Thames | 1.99 | Most Favourable |
| Rochdale | -0.87 | Middle Group |
| Rotherham | -0.67 | Middle Group |
| Rutland county council | -0.47 | Middle Group |
| Salford | -0.27 | Middle Group |
| Sandwell | -0.13 | Middle Group |
| Scottish Borders | -1.69 | Least Favourable |
| Sefton | -0.33 | Middle Group |
| Sheffield | 0.17 | Middle Group |
| Shetland Islands | -2.64 | Least Favourable |
| Shropshire | -1.00 | Middle Group |
| Slough | 1.22 | Favourable |
| Solihull | 0.45 | Middle Group |
| Somerset county council | -0.49 | Middle Group |
| South Ayrshire | -1.21 | Unfavourable |
| South Lanarkshire | -0.90 | Middle Group |
| South Tyneside | -0.36 | Middle Group |
| Southampton | 1.18 | Favourable |
| Southend-on-Sea | 0.72 | Middle Group |
| Southwark | 0.95 | Middle Group |
| St Helens | 0.03 | Middle Group |
| Staffordshire county council | -0.64 | Middle Group |
| Stirling | -0.06 | Middle Group |
| Stockport | 0.19 | Middle Group |
| Stockton-on-Tees | -0.12 | Middle Group |
| Stoke-on-Trent | -0.37 | Middle Group |
| Suffolk county council | 0.16 | Middle Group |
| Sunderland | -0.45 | Middle Group |
| Surrey county council | 0.80 | Middle Group |
| Sutton | 0.24 | Middle Group |
| Swansea | -0.26 | Middle Group |
| Swindon | 0.70 | Middle Group |
| Tameside | -0.77 | Middle Group |
| Telford and Wrekin | -0.51 | Middle Group |
| Thurrock | 0.64 | Middle Group |
| Torbay | -0.65 | Middle Group |
| Torfaen | -1.78 | Least Favourable |
| Tower Hamlets | 0.78 | Middle Group |
| Trafford | 0.19 | Middle Group |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 0.53 | Middle Group |
| Wakefield | -0.49 | Middle Group |
| Walsall | -0.12 | Middle Group |
| Waltham Forest | -0.45 | Middle Group |
| Wandsworth | 2.50 | Most Favourable |
| Warrington | 1.19 | Favourable |
| Warwickshire county council | 0.84 | Middle Group |
| West Berkshire | 1.05 | Favourable |
| West Dunbartonshire | -0.41 | Middle Group |
| West Lothian | 0.08 | Middle Group |
| West Northamptonshire | 0.13 | Middle Group |
| West Sussex county council | -0.12 | Middle Group |
| Westminster | 2.87 | Most Favourable |
| Wigan | -0.52 | Middle Group |
| Wiltshire | 0.29 | Middle Group |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 1.21 | Favourable |
| Wirral | 0.23 | Middle Group |
| Wokingham | 1.28 | Favourable |
| Wolverhampton | 0.07 | Middle Group |
| Worcestershire county council | 0.51 | Middle Group |
| Wrexham | -0.71 | Middle Group |
| City of York | 0.87 | Middle Group |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
Summary main findings
The 6 ‘most favourable’ local authority areas for innovation and growth are all in London:
- Camden and City of London
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Richmond upon Thames
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
Many of the local authorities with ‘favourable’ environments for innovation and growth are in London and the ‘home counties’ (the counties surrounding London).
There are also favourable environments in:
- Cambridgeshire county council
- Cardiff
- Milton Keynes
- Slough
- Southampton
- Warrington
Many local authorities with less favourable environments for innovation and growth are in rural areas. These include:
- Isle of Anglesey
- Caerphilly
- Ceredigion county council
- Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
- Highland
- Lincolnshire county council
- Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides)
- Orkney Islands
- Pembrokeshire county council
- Powys county council
- Scottish Borders
This is expected given that we have included ‘gigabit’ capability as one of the drivers of innovation and growth. But both the other drivers for this index also show strong differences between urban and rural areas.
About the data
Data source(s)
- Office of Communications (Ofcom), Connected Nations Report (2023)
- Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Nesta (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) Research and Development spatial data tool, 2021
- Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey (LFS), 2014 to 2022
Geographic area
UK
What the data measures
This page combines data from the following 3 indicators into a single 'composite' score:
Things you need to know
Areas are based on where respondents lived at the time they were surveyed, not where they grew up.
The unit used for this index is the 'Z-score'. This is a type of statistical measurement which can be used to tell us how likely it is that a region is different to the UK average.
The values shown are not percentages, and the difference between regions cannot be compared in percentage terms.
The Z-scores are used to put regions into one of five groups, according to a set of thresholds for each group. Please see our technical annex for more information on how each area was scored.
Type of data
- Survey data (LFS)
- Administrative data (Nesta, Ofcom)
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 51KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Indicator code
- Indicator name
- Area type
- Area code
- Area name
- Time period
- Socio-economic background
- Age
- Sex
- Category type
- Category
- Value
- Unit
- Value note
Page history
Publication release date:
11 September 2024