Zones, local data, maternal mental health
Plus a Spotify playlist
This week's North East Combined Authority cabinet meeting included a big bit of news around regeneration, as cabinet members agreed to explore a new Mayoral Development Zone for Newcastle and Gateshead.
The region's devolution agreement includes the power for the Mayor's office to lead large-scale regeneration projects, and aim to draw in investment and simplify planning and delivery in their area.
There's some more info on all of that as a concept here, and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves was also talking about the mechanism at an investment summit this week.
The Chronicle has a write up of the plans as they stand, which is basically that there'll now be an exploration of what the Zone ought to look like. It's probably fair to say it'll include all of the things you're already thinking of…Forth Yards, the Quayside arena site, whatever is going to happen around the Gateshead flyover…and anything else they want to include.
How well does the ONS do on providing local data?
Well, they've published an evaluation of their efforts over the past few years.
It includes that they have done pretty well, thank you for asking.
I'd half agree, I think.
During the pandemic it became really obvious that there were gaps and lags in local and regional data, and that these were limiting informed policymaking.
The ONS has definitely responded to that positively, and through a combination of things including taking some new approaches they've sped a lot of key data up, and made other datasets easier to work with.
But, there's still room for improvement, especially given how Combined Authority level is now where lots of the funding and lots of the exciting decisions are being made.
However, in the spirit of rewarding effort, here are links to two of the sets of data from the last week with local breakdowns and analysis:
Maternal mental health - Ways to Wellness
Newcastle-based charity Ways to Wellness works alongside the NHS to prototype non-medical interventions which can help address health inequalities.
One of those is work with the voluntary sector to help support maternal mental heath services, and in particular better connect them into community hubs and broader suport networks.
Working with Newcastle University, they’ve carried out a project which amplifies women’s voices around their mental health.
One of the outputs is a video (below) where women share their experiences around birth, their mental health, and the frustration of not being listened to about their own minds and bodies.
I know this will resonate with lots of readers. It definitely reflects some of my wife Kate’s experience around birth, and what I’ve heard from several friends.
There was a moment during the births of both our children where the rigid, formulaic (male) doctors got a firm elbow from the flexible, intuitive (female) midwifery and nursing team and things suddenly felt more safe, stable and controlled.
The issue wasn’t so much their roles, or their genders, but their communication styles and their willingness to listen to Kate…the person who was actually doing the hard work.
As the Jess’s Rule news this week shows, it’s sadly not to be taken for granted that women are listened to about their health, to the point where GPs are having to be reminded to avoid tragic outcomes.
Pattern community
Pattern is adding a new element to what it does, as it approaches three years since launch, with a new feature showcasing members of the Pattern community.
Step One has been founder Chris Owens sharing a playlist of his favourites from this month.
The North East is well-represented, with local artists ERNIE, Hector Gannet, Jodie Nicholson and The Early Purple all featured.
Working with me
Having largely gone to ground over the summer, I’ll be out and about more in the coming weeks.
I’d love to talk to people about research, narrative development, and policy and influence projects, and anywhere else where you think I might be able to help.
If you’d like a coffee and a chat, just drop me a line on arlen@arlenpettitt.co.uk.