Abstract
The well-being of children and young people in the UK has become an increasing concern of local and national government in recent times. This article explores regional and sub-regional geographic variations in a number of themes relating to this key population sub-group, such as educational attainment from early years to age 19, participation in education and training at ages 16 and 17, aspects of health and local authority care, and court sentencing of juveniles committing crimes. Statistics at regional level often highlight disparities between southern regions of England (apart from London) and those in the north. This is clearly seen in low birthweights, criminal sentencing and income deprivation. London shows some specific features, exhibiting lower take-up for the main childhood immunisations, but a higher birth rate than all other regions and countries of the UK. However, data at sub-regional geographic levels often illustrate more accurately the variations between areas. For example, the highest levels of educational attainment at age 16 were found in local authorities in most regions. Many trends in child-related issues also appear related to level of income deprivation and rurality of the area where children are resident. For example, prevalence of childhood obesity, proportion of children in workless households and patterns in household income deprivation all suggest possible trends dependent upon these factors.
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