HC Deb 13 November 2001 vol 374 cc627-9W
Geraldine Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what funding he has provided(a) to encourage employment opportunities and (b) to regenerate industrial estates in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency. [13768]

Ms Keeble

The constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale has benefited from the following funding.

Ward name1 Rank of index of multiple deprivation across England
Heysham Central 1,476
Heysham South 2,113
Castle 2,282
Victoria 2,417
1These are based on ward boundaries as at 1998

The components of the Indices of Deprivation 2000 are:

Separate indices at ward level on each of the six domains of deprivation: Income, Employment, Health Deprivation and Disability, Education Skills and Training, Housing and Geographical Access to Services. This allows all 8,414 wards in England to be ranked according to how deprived they are relative to other areas, for each domain.A ward level index that brings together information from the six domains of deprivation into one overall Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2000). Table 1 is based on this measure.

Six district level summaries of the IMD, which allow all 354 local authority districts to be ranked according to each measure. These summaries take account of the different patterns of deprivation found in different areas.

Table 2 shows how all Lancaster's wards are ranked according to the IMD and the six other ward domains included in the Indices of Deprivation 2000.

Single Regeneration Budget: SRB Round One—Turning the Tide: Morecambe This is a seven year strategy to halt decline and build tourism through comprehensive regeneration of an area of need in the town centre. It builds on pre-existing housing schemes and extends to business, training, and environmental schemes. SRB Total is £4.3 million.

SRB Round Five—Luneside Regeneration This seven year scheme seeks to tackle dereliction and draw private investment into key sites in Lancaster. creating new jobs close to the city's inner urban communities. SRB total is £5 million.

European Regional Development Fund Much of the constituency is eligible for support under the 2000–06 Objective 2 programme, and can expect to access business support through the wider north and west Lancashire action plan. This has been awarded £14 million for a range of business support activities.