§ Mr. Hargreaves asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied that the statistical technique known as Z scores used by his Department accurately reflects the poverty, deprivation and difficulties within each local authority.
§ Sir George YoungThere is no single authoritative measure of the difficulties faced by a particular area. The Z scores prepared by my Department provide a comparative index of local authority areas, combining six indicators of deprivation based on information at census enumeration district level. They provide a useful guide to the incidence of multiple deprivation, but cannot give a comprehensive picture of an area's social and economic circumstances.