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Former South Wales mining communities are the most socially and economically disadvantaged of all Britain’s former mining areas, a damning report published says.

The State of the Coalfields study paints a grim picture of the lives of 757,000 people living in former mining communities in South Wales, one quarter of the population of Wales.

Comparing their lives, job prospects and health with other former mining areas and the rest of the UK the report commissioned by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust found they lag behind in all areas and there is a ‘compelling case’ for continued support and funding”.

Read: 23 brilliant things about the Valleys that prove the future's bright

The report, led by Professor Steve Fothergill, from Sheffield Hallam University, found 17% of all adults of working age are out of work on benefits in the South Wales Valleys compared with 16% in former mining communities in Durham, 14% in Yorkshire and a national average of 11%. In the South East just 7% are unemployed on benefits.

On health almost one in 10 adults across South Wales say their health is bad or very bad - nearly double that of the South East and higher than 6.9% in former mining communities in Scotland, 7.4% in Yorkshire and 8.6% in Durham.

A massive 10.7% of the entire population of the South Wales Valleys claim disability allowance, double the national average and above similar communities in Durham at 8.2% and Yorkshire 7.6%, the report adds.

“It’s clear that of all the former mining areas in Britain those in South Wales remain the most socially and economically disadvantaged,” Prof Fothergill said.

Although the report says regeneration works he warned it hadn’t worked as well in Wales as other areas.

“South Wales has been hard to regenerate. The South Wales Valleys are a bit off the beaten track geographically, there are not the good transport links or flat ground for business and distribution centres that have gone to places like Yorkshire, for instance.

“The pit closures may be receding into history, but the job losses that followed are still a serious and contributing factor to the economic reality for most mining communities. Coalfields communities are seriously adrift of the national average.”

The report also found 20% of people of working age in the South Wales Valleys had no qualifications, compared with a national average of 15% and there are 41 jobs for every 100 people of working age, the lowest of any former mining area.

“The evidence provides a compelling case that most coalfield communities of England, Scotland and Wales still require support,” the report concludes.

Local MPs said the report was no surprise and called for better Whitehall funding.

Neath MP Peter Hain said, “Valley communities I represent are crying out for Westminster Government investment to create jobs and growth, yet all they get is more and more austerity .”

Read: Aled Blake: There is still hope for the South Wales Valleys

Cynon Valley MP Ann Clwyd demanded reform of the Barnett Formula, the mechanism used by The Treasury to allocate funds to Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, saying Wales loses out while Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda, called for a new body to address problems of depressed areas.

“My anger is for David Cameron and George Osborne whose policies have given money to bankers and nothing to the people of places like the Rhondda,” he said.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Plaid Cymru councillor Geraint Davies said the town’s swimming pool, bank and youth club had closed as direct result of the Coalition government cuts.

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Former miners’ leader Tyrone O’Sullivan, now chairman of Goitre Tower Anthracite Ltd. the owners of Tower Colliery, warned generations of families remained out of work and predicted the next few years would be even harder.

“We are looking at total disaster in the Valleys,” Mr O’Sullivan claimed,

“The next few years will be the toughest since the strike because of the policies of the government which is also attacking benefits and introducing things like the Bedroom Tax.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The decimation of the coal industry in the South Wales valleys in the late 80s and early 90s was a devastating blow for our valley communities, leaving a scar that will take generations to heal.

“These findings highlight the realities of the challenge we face, such as long-term ill-health and long-term unemployment.

“As a Government, we have a relentless focus on doing everything we can to meet those challenges.

“Our policies are generating the conditions necessary to create jobs, raise educational attainment, support our most disadvantaged communities and provide access to the vital public services that people depend on.”