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.

Least
Favourable
Unfavourable
Middle
Group
Favourable
Most
Favourable

Data

‘Index of innovation and growth’, by local authority (UK)
Region Index of 'innovation and growth' 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 the data (CSV, 8KB)
  • 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.

    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

    This page replaces: