An article examined spatial dimensions of social mobility. Urban development patterns originally concentrated the poorest groups in private rented housing close to industrial areas. This housing was later replaced by social rented housing, which remained behind after de-industrialization and was later allocated by need rather than by ability to pay. Worklessness and deprivation had therefore became co-dependent. However, social mobility was also driven by economic growth, with deprived neighbourhoods in high-growth cities having more mobility or 'churn' than those in low-growth cities and regions.
Source: Dominic Williams, 'Spatial dimensions of social mobility', Local Economy, Volume 24 Number 8
Links: Abstract
Date: 2009-Dec
A report examined the changing social geography of Sheffield (England's fourth largest city), and the disparities in social outcomes between different areas within it.
Source: Bethan Thomas, John Pritchard, Dimitris Ballas, Dan Vickers and Danny Dorling, A Tale of Two Cities: The Sheffield Project, Social & Spatial Inequalities Research Group/Department of Geography/University of Sheffield
Links: Report | Sheffield Telegraph report
Date: 2009-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs examined the 'Network Change' programme involving the closure of up to 2,500 post office branches. It said that there were gaps in the monitoring arrangements, particularly around the impacts of closures and setting national standards of quality of service.
Source: Oversight of the Post Office Network Change Programme, Fifty-third Report (Session 2008-09), HC 832, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Localis press release | BBC report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Nov
A study examined why affluent neighbourhoods tended to have higher levels of street cleanliness than deprived neighbourhoods, and what local authorities could do to narrow this gap.
Source: Annette Hastings, Nick Bailey, Glen Bramley, Rob Croudace and David Watkins, Street Cleanliness in Deprived and Better-Off Neighbourhoods: A clean sweep?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (01904 629241)
Links: Report | Summary | New Start report
Date: 2009-Nov
Researchers examined the operation of the Fairer Scotland Fund and the continued support needs of community planning partnerships in tackling poverty and deprivation under an outcome-based framework. The focus on outcomes and strategic approaches was widely seen to have improved partnership working. (The Fairer Scotland Fund was established in 2008, replacing seven previous funds targeted at tackling deprivation in Scotland.)
Source: Andrew Fyfe, Katy MacMillan, Tara McGregor and Steven Reid, Informing Future Approaches to Tackling Multiple Deprivation in Communities: Beyond the Fairer Scotland Fund, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2009-Nov
The 2009 report was published on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. The Index divided Scotland up into more than 6, 000 small geographical areas called 'datazones', which were then ranked using 38 indicators of deprivation across the following categories – income, employment, health, education, geographic access to services, housing, and crime.
Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation: 2009 General Report, Scottish Government (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report | SG press release | SNP press release | New Start report
Date: 2009-Oct
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the post office network.
Source: Post Offices – Securing Their Future: Government Response to the Committee's Eighth Report, Fifth Special Report (Session 2008-09), HC 1002, House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2009-Oct
A report said that areas with large minority-ethnic populations had the worst access to free cash machines.
Source: Omar Khan and Ludi Simpson, Who Pays to Access Cash? Ethnicity and cash machines, Runnymede Trust (020 7377 9222)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Sep
A report called for the government to transform post offices into small business hubs around the country, in order to secure the future of the network.
Source: FSB Postal Report, Federation of Small Businesses (01253 336000)
Links: Report | FSB press release | FT report
Date: 2009-Sep
The Prime Minister announced plans to allow the Post Office to offer a wider range of banking and other financial services.
Source: Speech by Gordon Brown MP (Prime Minister), 29 September 2009
Links: Text of speech | DBIS press release | RSN Online report
Date: 2009-Sep
An audit report said that the Welsh Assembly Government's flagship 'Communities First' programme to tackle poverty and deprivation had delivered local benefits, but still had some 'fundamental risks and challenges' that needed addressing.
Source: Communities First, Wales Audit Office (029 2026 0260)
Links: Report | WAO press release | NAW press release | BBC report
Date: 2009-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that the post office network should be used to provide access to significantly enhanced banking services. Post offices were essential to the fabric of society, and had a key role in tackling social exclusion and isolation.
Source: Post Offices – Securing Their Future, Eighth Report (Session 2008-09), HC 371, House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Citizens Advice press release | CRC press release | BBC report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2009-Jul
An audit report examined the government's oversight of the 'Network Change Programme', involving plans to close up to 2,500 post offices. Overall, the Programme had largely met its targets and complied with the undertakings given by the government in respect of access to post office services – but setting up the 500 outreach services to help people cope with the closures was running behind schedule.
Source: BERR's Oversight of the Post Office Network Change Programme, HC 558 (Session 2008-09), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release | Consumer Focus press release | Telegraph report | FT report
Date: 2009-Jun
A think-tank report set out alternative proposals to the government's plan to part-privatize Royal Mail and the Post Office. It examined why privatization was the wrong answer to the problems the organizations faced; and it proposed a range of reforms in governance, investment, and industrial relations designed to enable the modernization of the service under public control.
Source: Neal Lawson, Modernisation by Consent: A Royal Mail for everyone, Compass (020 7463 0633)
Links: Report | Compass press release
Date: 2009-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government had yet to produce a convincing case that its proposed restructuring of the Post Office, involving a partial privatization, was the best solution to the organization's problems.
Source: The Postal Services Bill, Fifth Report (Session 2008-09), HC 172, House of Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Telegraph report | FT report | BBC report
Date: 2009-Apr
A paper discussed a typology that had been developed in order to understand better the different functional roles that deprived neighbourhoods played in their wider locality.
Source: Brian Robson with Kitty Lymperopoulou and Alasdair Rae, A Typology of the Functional Roles of Deprived Neighbourhoods, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Paper | Research summary | Inside Housing report
Date: 2009-Feb
The government published an 'Economic Deprivation Index' (EDI), constructed in a consistent manner at 'lower super output area' level for each year between 1999 and 2005. The index was designed to address, and in part overcome, the problems caused by the fact that the Indices of Deprivation for 2004 and 2007 did not facilitate backwards comparison, or enable users to understand how the pattern of deprivation was changing between these fixed points.
Source: Michael Noble, David McLennan and Adam Whitworth, Tracking Neighbourhoods: The Economic Deprivation Index 2008, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Jan
The government published a 'Child Well-being Index' (CWI), representing the first attempt to create a small-area index exclusively for children in England. Unlike the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), the CWI was restricted by the availability of data, as many datasets were not disaggregated by age group. Data on children was largely collected through surveys that were not robust enough to be broken down to small-area level. The CWI followed a similar approach, structure, and methodology to that used for the IMD 2007.
Source: Jonathan Bradshaw et al., Local Index of Child Well-Being: Summary Report, Department for Communities and Local Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2009-Jan