evidence: 10. Looking at Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per head, a measure of living standards before housing costs, London had the highest, followed by the South East and East of England. The lower end of the scale is occupied by: Yorkshire and The Humber; Northern Ireland; the North East; and Wales. Considering growth in GDHI per head between 1997 and 2017, London and Scotland grew above the UK average, while Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber dipped below. [...] 96. There is a wide range of incomes within each region. London is unique in having far higher disposable income than all other regions; the poorest areas of London are still better off than the richest areas of Northern Ireland and Wales. The upper band (South and East of England and Scotland) have areas with higher income similar to those in the middle band (North and Middle England), but lack the really poor areas seen in the Midlands and North of England. These are mainly urban areas, as are the poorest parts of every region. Generally, it is the suburban and rural areas that have the highest disposable income in most parts of the UK. 97. The lower band (Northern Ireland, Wales and the North East of England) is characterised by a much narrower spread of incomes, though all are towards the lower end of the scale. There are no areas here that could be called wealthy, relative to the rest of the UK, as they are all below the UK average.