THE amount of money in people's pockets is rising four times faster in Bradford than in the rest of the country, official figures show.

Disposable income per head leapt by 4.2 per cent between 2012 and 2013 - the fourth biggest rise in the UK.

It means people in the district have £13,654 to spend on average, after all bills have been paid.

But people in Bradford still have less to spend than in any other area of West Yorkshire and remain well below the national average.

Although the figures do not reveal why disposable income is rising in Bradford, they are thought to reflect low interest rates and low inflation offsetting disappointing wage rises.

Unemployment in the district is also at its lowest level for six years.

The news was hailed by the district's two Conservative MPs as proof of an economic policy that was working for the north, but local Labour MPs were more sceptical.

Kris Hopkins, the Keighley MP and a Government whip, said: "This is good news for the district and underlines that the economic recovery is putting more money in people’s pockets here."

Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, said it showed George Osborne's talk of tackling the north-south divide was "not just words, it's also being put into action".

He said: "Last year, there were more jobs created in Yorkshire than there were in France."

Labour MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah, said she welcomed the statistics "with a degree of caution".

She said as the figures were averages, they didn't reveal the gap between Bradford's richest and poorest.

She said: "I'm very clear that we have a tremendous amount of work to do to bring real growth and jobs and opportunities."

And her Labour colleague, Bradford East MP Imran Hussain, said, with a hint of sarcasm,: "I am sure that thousands of my constituents will be gladdened to find out how well off they all are."

He said wages in his constituency were still well below Yorkshire and national averages.

Bradford South MP Judith Cummins could not be reached for comment.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council's executive member for employment, welcomed the news, but said disposable incomes in Bradford "still have a lot of catching up to do".

She said: "We're about 10 per cent below the regional average, but if we continue growing faster than other cities then we'll narrow that gap."

In comparison, the amount of money in people's pockets in London and the South East has barely budged - up 0.6 per cent.

But disposable income in Bradford was still a fraction of the average figure enjoyed by those in the plushest parts of London.

In Westminster, the average household disposable income was £43,577 – more than three times the figure in Bradford.