POLICY ISSUE

1. NERIP Insights NERIP Insights Is there only one type of deprived area? POLICY ISSUE Intuitively, it may seem that there’s more than one kind of deprivation. Understanding the characteristics of a deprived small area, and its people, are clearly vital to addressing the issues it faces. APPROACH NERIP commissioned the Training and Employment Research Unit (TERU) at Glasgow University to look at this matter. The project worked to a large steering group from different organisations across the North East. The group agreed that the geographical unit of analysis should be the lower super output area (LSOA). The 566 LSOAs in the North East which fall within the 20% most deprived LSOAs in England were selected for further analysis. The group agreed with TERU a list of 29 variables, or indicators of deprivation, all of which were available at LSOA level. They covered the key domains of population, economy, health, crime, education and connectivity. TERU used cluster analysis and factor analysis techniques to identify groups of LSOAs with similar characteristics. From this approach, four different clusters of area emerged. TERU then undertook a literature review, to see ‘what works’ in addressing deprivation. The review looked at academic reports, evaluations of local regeneration initiatives, and research commissioned by central Government. • KEY FINDINGS • The four clusters identified, with key characteristics, were: • former industrial/coalfield areas in rural areas: older populations, issues of health, access to work • peripheral estates: younger, stable populations, high levels of crime and benefit claims • former industrial/coalfield areas in urban areas: older populations, less deprived than other clusters • inner urban suburbs: significant turnover of population, often high BME or student populations • More detail, including ’what works’ in each type of area, can be found at http://www.nerip.com/library/view.aspx?id=1065 Redcar & Cleveland : typology of deprivation POLICY IMPLICATIONS The Government has suggested that the Regional Growth Fund will ‘support in particular those areas that are currently dependent on the public sector to make the transition to sustainable, private sector-led growth and prosperity.’ Bids will need to be made to the fund ADDING VALUE Knowing the characteristics of an area in detail means that bids and resources can be targeted more precisely towards the issues it faces. For more information about this project contact chris.young@nerip.com Knowing the characteristics of an area in detail means that bids and resources can be targeted most effectively