Stoke-on-Trent residents see gains in safety and support

beehiveweb.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-04 15:12 2 min read

A quintessential British residential street lined with red brick terrace houses and parked cars.

By the Beehive Web editorial team | Published 4 August 2026

Crime and anti-social behaviour recorded in Stoke-on-Trent fell from 14.1 to 10.6 cases per 1,000 people—almost 25%—according to the city council’s State of the City report. The council also cites £105 million secured for transport and support provided to more than 1,300 children through expanded Family Hubs.

The figures behind the council’s progress claim

Measure	Reported result
Transport	£105 million secured for buses and the wider network
Family services	More than 1,300 children supported through Family Hubs
Crime and anti-social behaviour	Down from 14.1 to 10.6 cases per 1,000 people
Fly-tipping response	5,977 incidents cleared, averaging 2.7 days
Employment	543 people helped into work through the JET programme

The report also records £3.1 million of illegal goods seized. It does not provide a product-by-product breakdown, although separate local enforcement has included shop closures linked to illegal tobacco sales.

Faster clearances do not show whether dumping fell

Residents may have noticed quicker removal of reported fly-tipping and wider access to family support. However, the 2.7-day average does not reveal the longest clearance times or whether the total amount of dumping decreased.

The £105 million transport figure represents funding secured to continue transforming buses and the wider network. The release does not identify individual routes, delivery dates or how much had already been spent.

Stoke-on-Trent residents see gains in safety and support

Progress follows a 25% spending-power reduction

Stoke-on-Trent City Council says austerity between 2010 and 2024 reduced its spending power by about 25% in real terms. Its latest three-year settlement includes increased funding, but the release gives no total from which residents could judge how much of that reduction has been restored.

Council leader Jane Ashworth said the settlement should allow better long-term planning, while acknowledging that the financial challenge remains significant.

Wider indicators improve, with important gaps

The report says domestic abuse fell by 12.6%, while the children-in-need rate declined from 605 per 10,000 in 2023 to 510 in 2025. Infant mortality and adult obesity have also fallen since 2023, although precise rates are not supplied.

These are figures presented by the council and do not, by themselves, establish that council action caused every change. Among 16- and 17-year-olds, the NEET rate stood at 3% in March 2026, compared with 3.6% nationally; the council also recorded 123 apprentice starts in 2025/26 against an annual target of 50.

Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Context & actions About this article

Source check How this report was reviewed

Beehive Web retained the council’s published figures while distinguishing reported outcomes from claims that cannot be established by the release alone.

Checks

Matched the report and publication date to the Stoke-on-Trent City Council source.
Preserved the stated monetary amounts, rates, dates and population units.
Distinguished secured transport funding from confirmed expenditure or completed projects.
Flagged where the release lacks detailed comparison periods, methodology or evidence of ca...

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