Cheshire East has been rated as the most prosperous non-metropolitan area in the North West, according to a new report.

The UK Prosperity Index to be published tomorrow (13 April) by the Legatum Institute, a London-based think tank, measures 256 indicators based on the latest available data to rank the country's 379 local authority areas.

The report's authors plan to use it to measure the government's promise to 'level-up' long-neglected towns across England.

Of the 24 non-metropolitan local authorities in North West England, Cheshire East came out at number one and ranked at 75 across the whole country.

Cheshire West and Chester was ranked as the sixth most prosperous area in the region but is nearly 100 places behind Cheshire East nationally, at 172.

The index reveals that the North West Non-metropolitan region is the 7th most prosperous in the UK. Authors said the regions "strengths" are "the quality of local governance" and "stable economy".

The regions other key strengths detailed in the index are:

• The safety of local communities: there are low crime rates, including the lowest rate of domestic abuse in the UK at just five incidents per 1,000 people.

• Strong governance: residents have particularly high levels of confidence in local governance and the region boasts the highest voter turnout for local elections in England at 44%.

• A good environment for starting and running a business: there are low property costs, high levels of awareness of local enterprise partnerships, and few regulatory barriers.

• A relatively strong economy: the region has benefited from relatively prudent management of local authority finances, good labour force engagement, and little economic volatility. Across the North West-Non-Metropolitan area, 11 local councils have more than 100% of their expenditure in reserves.

However, the index also reveals that there are opportunities for the North West non-metropolitan region to 'level-up', including:

• Improving the investment environment: the percentage of small businesses making use of equity financing or loans from banks, other businesses, or angel investors fell from 28% in 2011 to just 20% in 2021 and there is little appetite for overseas expansion for future projects among businesses in the region.

• Increasing the strength of social capital: this has deteriorated over the last decade, and the North West-Non-Metropolitan area has one of the highest rates of lone parent families in the UK and the numbers of children in need and looked after children in the region are both higher than the national average.

• Continuing to improve living conditions: there is poor access to local amenities and 21% of residents live in food deserts, the second highest proportion in the country.

• Improving the physical and mental health of residents: the percentage of patients on GP lists diagnosed with depression is the second highest in the UK at 14% and the region has the second highest prevalence of cardiovascular conditions and dementia in the country.

Professor Matthew Goodwin, Director of the Legatum Institute's Centre for UK Prosperity, said: "The holistic and rigorous approach we have taken has allowed us to identify issues that have previously been missed in the discussion about how to level-up the country.

"It highlights that while the non-urban areas of the North West perform well on the safety of local communities, quality of local governance, and economic stability, we also need to invest in areas such as social capital, health, and the investment environment for businesses if we are to see all citizens, neighbourhoods, and communities in the region reach their full potential."

He added: "We hope our Index will help leaders across the North West set their agendas and implement strategies that will unlock real prosperity."