Public Health Liverpool

Grow well

Children and young people are at the centre of Liverpool’s future sustainability.  Understanding the importance of key transition points where significant changes occur, such as moving from primary to secondary school, is important in developing policies and interventions that effectively improve health in early years, and give children the best start in life.

Key facts

  • Around 27,376 children (32.3%) in Liverpool live in relative poverty - that's 1 in 3 compared with 1 in 5 (19.8%) nationally.
  • By the age of 10-11 years, 2 in 5 (40.7%) of children are overweight or obese, significantly higher than England (35.8%).
  • In 2023/24 there were 16,362 children with special educational needs, significantly above the national average (23% versus 18.4%).
  • Liverpool’s HPV one-dose vaccination coverage for females aged 12-13 years in 2022/23 was 70.8% and significantly below the England rate of 71.3%.
  • 1,477 children were in care in 2022/23. The Liverpool rate of 156 per 10,000 is the 2nd highest in England, and significantly increasing.
  • Around 23 children are killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents each year. Liverpool’s rate of children who were killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents in 2020 - 22 was significantly worse than nationally (27.8 per 100,00 compared to 16.5 per 100,000).
  • In 2021, there were 141 teenage conceptions. Liverpool’s under 18 years conception rate of 20.1 conceptions per 1,000 females aged 15-17 years was significantly higher than the 13.1 per 1,000 reported nationally.
  • 1 in 12 (885) of our 16-17-year-olds were not in education, employment, or training in 2022/23, which is 1.6 times higher than England (8.5% compared to 5.2%).

Drawing on the results of the Trading Standards North West Survey of 14-17 year olds in Liverpool in 2023:

  • The percentage of 14-16 year olds who drink alcohol in Liverpool remains low with younger people increasing adopting a more sensible approach to towards alcohol. There has been a fall in the percentage of young people in Liverpool getting drunk or pretending to be drunk.
  • Levels of tobacco smoking among young people in Liverpool continue to fall, with just 4% of 14-16 year olds claiming to smoke, the lowest level recorded.  More than 4 in 5 young people claim to have never tried tobacco smoking. The majority claim to try or start smoking between the ages of 13 and 14 and mainly get their cigarettes from shops or friends.
  • The percentage of young people in Liverpool claiming to have tried or use vapes has increased by 15% since 2015. 14% claim to vape more than once a week, compared to 2% in 2017, and this behaviour is higher amongst girls (21%). Increasingly they are trying vapes either before or instead of tobacco cigarettes. The flavours are a key factor in tempting young people to vape, and also in what they buy. More than 4 in 5 who have tried vaping have friends who vape.

Liverpool City Region

Office for Health Improvement and Disparities profiles