A report examined the benefits of community action in tackling food poverty and social exclusion. A project focused on seven deprived areas in England, identifying the barriers to a healthy diet that people living in these communities face and examining how people cope with food poverty on a daily basis.
Source: Hunger from the Inside: The experience of food poverty in the UK, Sustain (020 7837 1228)
Links: None
Date: 2002-Dec
The government began consultation on revisions to the 2000 English indices of deprivation, which are widely used to decide where to allocate government regeneration funds. Proposed changes include adding two new 'domains' - physical environment and crime - as indicators of deprivation.
Source: Updating the English Indices of Deprivation 2000: Stage 1 Consultation Report, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 8383)
Links: Consultation document (pdf)
Date: 2002-Nov
A report said that, after housing costs are taken into account, 53 per cent of inner London children, and 36 per cent of inner London pensioners, live in poverty. It said that these levels are far higher than in any other region of Great Britain.
Source: London Divided: Income inequality and poverty in the capital, Greater London Authority (020 7983 4100)
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian analysis
Date: 2002-Nov
Research found that although people in deprived areas may not know and trust their neighbours as much as those in affluent areas they are more likely to intervene personally to prevent crime and disorder in their community.
Source: Rowland Atkinson and John Flint, Neighbourhood Boundaries, Social Disorganisation and Social Exclusion, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Nov
Two important housing datasets were added to 'Neighbourhood Statistics' (the local area information service on the National Statistics website). One from the Land Register provides a reliable indicator of market values; and a second from the Valuation Office Agency shows the number of homes in each council tax band. Both sets are broken down by each ward in England and Wales.
Source: Press release 7.11.02, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Press release (pdf) | Neighbourhood Statistics Home Page
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 30/4, Digest 120, paragraph 12.1
Date: 2002-Nov
A study found that significant inequalities in education and training are strongly associated with local economic disparities; and that strategies for addressing the problem need to be closely connected with plans for development of local economies.
Source: Masahiko Sano, A Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between the Economy and Education in England in the 1990s, Working Paper 37, Centre for Labour Market Studies/University of Leicester (0116 252 5950)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-Nov
New maps were published, on the basis of the 'Noble' methodology, designating the 160 most deprived wards in Northern Ireland, containing around 30 per cent of the total population.
Source: DETI Revised New TSN Area Maps - Northern Ireland Wards, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 9650)
Links: Maps (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Oct
Research found that children in deprived areas are three times more likely to be hit by a car than children in other areas, and that a quarter of all accidents happen in the ten most deprived areas of the country. The report authors recommended that speed limits should be reduced to 20 mph.
Source: Tony Grayling, Karl Hallam, Daniel Graham, Richard Anderson and Stephen Glaister, Streets Ahead - Safe and liveable streets for children, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Press release
Date: 2002-Oct
The lives of many older people living in deprived areas of England's cities are blighted by poverty, crime and isolation, according to a new study.
Source: Thomas Scharf, Chris Phillipson, Paul Kingston and Allison Smith, Growing Older in Socially Deprived Areas, Help the Aged (020 7239 1946)
Links: Summary (pdf)
Date: 2002-Sep
The postal services regulator called for action to ensure that the network of post offices has a sustainable future, including financial assistance for post offices in rural and urban deprived areas.
Source: Access to Post Office Services: Time to Act, Postal Services Commission (020 7593 2100)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 30/3, Digest 119, paragraph 1.1
Date: 2002-Sep
A report looked at the experiences and perceptions of people involved in Policy Action Teams (set up by the government to tackle the intractable problems faced by people living in deprived neighbourhoods).
Source: The Social Exclusion Unit's Policy Action Team Approach to Policy Development: The Views of Participants, Social Exclusion Unit/Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7276 2055) and Centre for Management and Policy Studies
Links: Report (pdf)
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 30/3, Digest 119, paragraph 4.6
Date: 2002-Sep
Research found that, while there are many road safety initiatives being developed within Scotland's most disadvantaged communities, there is still a need for a more formal strategy.
Source: Tony Graham, Road Safety and Social Inclusion, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report
Date: 2002-Aug
An article questioned the existence of 'food deserts' - poor urban areas where residents cannot buy affordable, healthy food - and examined the way in which the concept has influenced health policy.
Source: Steven Cummins and Sally Macintyre, '"Food deserts" - evidence and assumption in health policy', British Medical Journal 24.8.02
Links: Article
Date: 2002-Aug
The full report was published of a study into the impact of drugs markets on deprived neighbourhoods.
Source: Ruth Lupton, Andrew Wilson, Tiggey May, Hamish Warburton and Paul Turnbull, A Rock and a Hard Place: Drug Markets in Deprived Neighbourhoods, Research Study 240, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Study (pdf)
Date: 2002-Jul
The government s Active Community Unit was relaunched, with a remit to focus more on deprived areas.
Source: Press release 29.5.02, Home Office (020 7273 4000)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2002-Jun
A report warned of a childcare 'postcode lottery', with access to childcare depending on geography, income and employment status.
Source: Raising Expectations: Delivering childcare for all, Daycare Trust (020 7840 3350)
Links: Summary
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/3, Digest 123 (paragraph 3.3)
Date: 2002-May
Fewer than half of those in the most deprived areas say they enjoy living in their neighbourhood.
Source: D. Prime, Active Communities: Initial Findings from the 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey, Home Office (020 7273 2261)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-May
An official report found that in urban areas the least affluent tend to be exposed to the highest levels of air pollution.
Source: S. Pye, Further Analysis of NO2 and PM10 Air Pollution and Social Deprivation, AEA Technology (01235 464286)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2002-May
A study tested an academic definition of social exclusion against the views of residents of deprived neighbourhoods.
Source: L. Richardson and J. Le Grand, Outsider and Insider Expertise: The Response of Residents of Deprived Neighbourhoods to an Academic Definition of Social Exclusion, CASEpaper 57, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion/London School of Economics (020 7955 6679)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2002-May