A report said that young people in deprived areas tended to have lower-than-average aspirations, which had a significant influence on educational attainment. The lowest educational aspirations were found in ex-industrial communities, often in the north of England.
Source: Aspiration and Attainment Amongst Young People in Deprived Communities, Social Exclusion Task Force/Cabinet Office (020 7276 1234)
Links: Report | NUT press release | Community Care report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Dec
An article examined neighbourhood deprivation, social fragmentation, and trajectories of health (using the Whitehall II study of British civil servants). Residence in a deprived or fragmented neighbourhood was associated with poorer mental health, and longer exposure to such neighbourhood environments had incremental effects. Associations between physical health and neighbourhood characteristics were less clear.
Source: Mai Stafford, David Gimeno and Michael Marmot, 'Neighbourhood characteristics and trajectories of health functioning: a multilevel prospective analysis', European Journal of Public Health, Volume 18 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Dec
An interim report examined the ways in which multi-agency and cross-sector local partnerships could best tackle worklessness in their communities. It recommended that upper-tier councils be responsible for conducting analyses of the causes of worklessness in their local communities.
Source: Stephen Houghton, Claire Dove and Iqbal Wahhab, Tackling Worklessness: A review of the contribution and role of local authorities and partnerships – Interim report, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report | DCLG press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
The government responded to reports by a committee of MPs on the closure of post offices, and on Post Office finances.
Source: After the Network Change Programme and Post Office Finance: Responses to the Committee's Sixth and Tenth Reports, Ninth Special Report (Session 2007-08), HC 1091, House of CommonsBusiness and Enterprise Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs sixth report | MPs tenth report
Date: 2008-Oct
An article examined the changing geographies of bank and building society closures between 1995 and 2003. Closures were disproportionately concentrated in deprived areas: but the geography of financial infrastructure had been 'written out' of financial exclusion policy. Policy needed to take greater account of the uneven geography of retail financial services production and consumption.
Source: Andrew Leyshon, Shaun French and Paola Signoretta, 'Financial exclusion and the geography of bank and building society branch closure in Britain', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Volume 33 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Oct
An article examined the ways in which young people's decisions about post-compulsory education, training, and employment were shaped by place, drawing on case study evidence from three deprived neighbourhoods in England. It discussed the way in which place-based social networks and attachment to place influenced individuals' outlooks, and how they interpreted and acted on the opportunities they saw.
Source: Anne Green and Richard White, 'Shaped by place: young people's decisions about education, training and work', Benefits, Volume 16 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Oct
A paper said that community-led enterprise organizations could drive positive change in their neighbourhoods, creating a self-help and problem-solving culture, and help individuals move out of poverty. Although many community groups were struggling, a new generation of more confident and aspirational community organizations was emerging. These were characterized by the use of social enterprise methods, community asset ownership, and a 'can do' attitude that sought to unlock potential in people and places – in short, 'community enterprise'.
Source: Glen Arradon and Steve Wyler, What Role for Community Enterprises in Tackling Poverty?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Date: 2008-Sep
A report (by an official advisory body) said that the proportion of rural households in England living in relative poverty had risen from 16 per cent to 19 per cent between 2004 and 2007. Around 20 per cent of children and pensioners in rural areas were living in poverty in 2007, as well as 1 in 6 working-age adults.
Source: Rural Financial Poverty: Priorities for action, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency (020 7340 2900)
Links: Report | Companion paper | CRC press release
Date: 2008-Jul
A think-tank report said that the unplanned nature of post office closures threatened to hit the poorest communities hardest, undermining government efforts to increase financial inclusion. It called for an enhanced post office account to help safeguard the network and increase financial inclusion.
Source: Veronika Thiel, Keeping Britain Posted: How post office banking could save the network and combat financial exclusion, New Economics Foundation (020 7820 6300)
Date: 2008-Jul
A study examined the social and monetary value of public transport initiatives in four deprived areas of England, in order to identify who benefited – and how they benefited – in relation to wider social inclusion objectives. The travel needs of people in the deprived areas studied could not be wholly met by traditional commercial public transport. New bus services enabled people to take up job opportunities, access health appointments, and make shopping trips that were previously not possible; participation in leisure and social activities also increased.
Source: Karen Lucas, Sophie Tyler and Georgina Christodoulou, The Value of New Transport in Deprived Areas: Who benefits, how and why?, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings
Date: 2008-Jul
A report examined techniques for estimating the overall rural share of deprivation at an output area, regional, and national level; and to identify very small area 'hotspots' – thus making it possible to highlight the existence of rural deprivation even in areas which were relatively prosperous.
Source: Deprivation in Rural Areas: Quantitative analysis and socio-economic classification, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency (020 7340 2900)
Date: 2008-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that although it was 'reluctantly' accepted that some rationalization of the existing post office network was necessary, the network provided services of general economic interest: the committee did not want to see further shrinkage.
Source: After the Network Change Programme: the future of the post office network, Sixth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 577, House of Commons Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
An article examined how people saw and expressed their experience of inequalities through place, and how they understood the impact of place on health. People from more deprived areas more readily discussed the adverse effects on health and well-being of structural and contextual features, whereas those with least experience of deprivation or hardship were more likely to draw on behavioural explanations of area inequalities. People living in more deprived areas also more readily accepted statistics on area inequalities in health than those based in more affluent areas.
Source: Rosemary Davidson, Richard Mitchell and Kate Hunt, 'Location, location, location: the role of experience of disadvantage in lay perceptions of area inequalities in health', Health and Place, Volume 14 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jun
A report said that opening up the postal market to private sector competition had provided no significant benefit for consumers or smaller businesses – but represented a 'substantial threat' to the future of the Royal Mail.
Source: Independent Review of the UK Postal Services Sector, The Challenges and Opportunities Facing UK Postal Services: An initial response to evidence, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (0870 150 2500)
Links: Report | Postcomm press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Telegraph report | FT report
Date: 2008-May
A study found that disadvantaged communities were keen to reduce street crime in their neighbourhoods, but they could feel unrecognized and marginalized by statutory bodies.
Source: Jenny Lynn, Community Leadership Approaches to Tackling Street Crime, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2008-May
A report examined the attachment people felt to their neighbourhood, and the extent and nature of attachment in deprived areas. In particular, the research looked at the impacts of neighbourhood instability and social mix on attachment. Attachment to a place tended to be highest in areas with strong social networks or cohesion, and in places with lower perceptions of crime or insecurity. Older people and those who have lived in an area for longer also tended to have stronger attachment. People were less likely to be attached to deprived areas than to more affluent neighbourhoods: but the factors that promoted or impaired attachment were the same in affluent and deprived areas.
Source: Mark Livingston, Nick Bailey and Ade Kearns, People's Attachment to Place: The influence of neighbourhood deprivation, Chartered Institute of Housing (024 7685 1700) for Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report | Findings | CIH press release
Date: 2008-May
An article examined the idea that increasing civic engagement led to better public services. Local councils which aimed to promote understanding of citizenship among the public were found to be more likely to have higher service performance: but those which aimed to increase citizen engagement in local governance were associated with lower performance in deprived areas.
Source: Rhys Andrews, Richard Cowell and James Downe, 'Support for active citizenship and public service performance: an empirical analysis of English local authorities', Policy & Politics, Volume 36 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Apr
A think-tank report examined the local processes that lead to income segregation at the neighbourhood level – in particular, the relationship between a neighbourhood's income profile and the housing market.
Source: Jim Bennett, A Tale of Two Cities: Neighbourhood segregation by income in two urban case studies, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Apr
An article examined the impact of neighbourhood quality (assessed when cohort members were aged 5) on boys' and girls' school-leaving age. Neighbourhood quality was more strongly related to men's than women's school-leaving age.
Source: Eirini Flouri and Katharina Ereky-Stevens, 'Urban neighbourhood quality and school leaving age: gender differences and some hypotheses', Oxford Review of Education, Volume 34 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Apr
A report presented the conceptual framework for the new indices of deprivation 2007; the component indicators and domains; the methodology for creating the domains and the overall index of multiple deprivation; the 'lower super output area' level results and the local authority summary results.
Source: Michael Noble et al., The English Indices of Deprivation 2007, Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Mar
An article examined whether neighbourhoods defined in different ways had similar implications for health studies. The effect of neighbourhood conditions needed to be looked at using several different ways to define neighbourhoods, and the size and composition of these neighbourhoods might be different in different parts of a study area.
Source: Robin Flowerdew, David Manley and Clive Sabel, 'Neighbourhood effects on health: does it matter where you draw the boundaries?', Social Science & Medicine Volume 66 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Mar
A government minister reportedly said that the government would support local councils that wanted to take over loss-making rural post offices by delaying branch closures, as long as it did not mean adding to the central government subsidy of the network. The government instructed Post Office Limited to enter into negotiations with local councils who wanted to try to take over running post offices earmarked for closure.
Source: The Guardian, 12 March 2008
Links: Guardian report | Telegraph report | LGA press release
Date: 2008-Mar
A report by a committee of MPs highlighted shortcomings in the way the post office closure programme was being implemented.
Source: Post Office Closure Programme, Third Report (Session 2007-08), HC 292, House of Commons Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NFSP statement
Date: 2008-Feb