Houghton and Sunderland South covers the southern part of Sunderland and extends inland through Houghton-le-Spring and neighbouring former coalfield communities. The constituency is predominantly urban and semi-urban, with residential neighbourhoods, former industrial land and distinct town centres arranged along major road corridors. Houghton-le-Spring provides an important local centre away from the Sunderland urban core, while communities farther east are more closely integrated with the city. Open land and reclaimed former mining areas separate some settlements. The seat therefore combines south Sunderland suburbs with a chain of established towns and villages rather than forming a single compact city-centre constituency.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Houghton and Sunderland South, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population106,116
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationNorth East
Age profile
0 to 1720.1% · 21,344 people
18 to 246.7% · 7,157 people
25 to 3413.3% · 14,135 people
35 to 4918.4% · 19,509 people
50 to 6420.3% · 21,591 people
65 and over21.1% · 22,380 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
44,873 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners59.8% · 26,848 households
Private renters11.7% · 5,230 households
Social renters28.1% · 12,613 households
Other tenure0.4% · 182 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
44,873 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households31.7% · 14,219 households
Families with dependent children27.5% · 12,341 households
Other single-family households38.8% · 17,408 households
Other household types2.0% · 905 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
100,441 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: England & Wales
Day-to-day activities limited a lot11.7% · 11,738 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little12.3% · 12,305 people
Not disabled under the Equality Act76.1% · 76,398 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
Petitions
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 16 March 2027
Reduce the state pension age to 65 for all
Signatures in this constituency287
Signatures nationally112,140
Government response published · 100,000-signature debate threshold reached
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded48
Total awarded£1,280,506
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 11 June 2026
Health Support Worker
Pennywell Neighbourhood Centre
£9,744
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Pennywell Neighbourhood Centre - Health & Wellbeing - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 21 May 2026
Sun'Lun Sorted
Sun'Lun Sorted
£11,465
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Sun'Lun Sorted - Health & Wellbeing - National Lottery Awards for All England
National Lottery grantAwarded 1 May 2026
Penshaw People
Penshaw Community Association
£19,976
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Penshaw Community Association - Community - National Lottery Awards for All England
Developing In-House Lost-Wax Bronze Casting Skills - Not discipline specific - National Lottery Project Grants
National Lottery grantAwarded 15 April 2026
Active Houghton and Hetton
The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Michael & All Angels Houghton-Le-Spring
£7,500
Sport England · Sport
About this award
This project will support three weekly sessions over 26 weeks: 'Exercise to Music', 'Gentle Exercise' and 'Mum and Baby Fitness'. Sessions will each run for an hour followed by 15-30 minute social support. Sessions will target inactive adults, older people, those with long term health conditions and new mothers in Houghton-le-Spring. The project will train three volunteers, enabling long term, community led delivery beyond the funding period. Funding will cover instructor, facility hire, coach training qualifications, staff and promotion costs.
43 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
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