Index of Local Deprivation (Hansard, 18 May 2000)

§ Mr. Coleman
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what weighting the geographical access to services domain has been given in the compilation of the new Index of Local Deprivation. [121576]

§ Ms Beverley Hughes
The consultation paper on the methodology released in December 1999 proposed that the geographical access to services domain be given a weight of 10 per cent. in the compilation of the overall index. The final weightings of the domains will be announced when the new index is published.

§ Mr. Coleman
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on what date he plans to publish the new Index of Local Deprivation; and if he will make a statement. [121573]

§ Ms Beverley Hughes
The Index of Local Deprivation review is on-going. The new index will be published within the next few months.

§ Mr. Coleman
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those local authorities who have risen over 10 places in the latest Index of Local Deprivation and are now in the top 65 places. [121574]

§ Ms Beverley Hughes
The review of the Index of Local Deprivation is on-going. The new index will be published once it is finalised and agreed. A consultation exercise on the methodology of the new index, which included a draft index, closed in January. This draft index showed illustrative rankings of all local authorities in England if the proposals contained in the methodology document were to be adopted. The rankings in the draft index may change as a result of further data checking, further testing of the index and the outcome of the consultation.

§ Mr. Coleman
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what percentage of those regeneration funds allocated in England and Wales on the basis of the Index of Local Deprivation were allocated to London Boroughs in 1999–2000; and if he will estimate what percentage would have been allocated to London boroughs if the new Index had been used as the key determinant of the allocation of those resources. [121575]

§ Ms Beverley Hughes
A number of factors determine the allocation of budgets for regeneration programmes including the total amount of resources available, national priorities and the relative needs of each region. One measure used to determine the needs of each region is the Index of Local Deprivation, which is used to inform the allocation of the Single Regeneration Budget and the New Deal for Communities.
The indicative allocations of resources to regions for all rounds of SRB have been based on the following formula: 50 per cent. according to the regions' share of 1993 population in areas with above average deprivation (based on the 1991 Index of Local Conditions score for each Local Authority district); and 50 per cent. based on the district level deprivation score, for areas with above average deprivation. The SRB is a competitive programme and the 248W final distribution of resources in each year is dependent upon the quality of bids received for new schemes, together with the pattern of commitments from earlier SRB rounds. A national target, introduced under Round 5 of the SRB in 1998, is for 80 per cent. of new money to be allocated in the most deprived areas which, for this purpose, are taken to be the local authority district areas included in the top 50 on one or more of the four measures of deprivation in the 1998 Index of Local Deprivation. The indicative SRB regional allocation for London represented 27 per cent. of total SRB resources for 1999–2000 in England.
Thirty nine areas have been identified in England in two rounds of the New Deal for Communities programme, of which ten are based in London Boroughs. 26 per cent. of NDC funding, under the first round of the programme, was allocated to London Boroughs in 1999–2000.
The Review of the Index of Local Deprivation is still on-going. The new Index will be published once it is finalised and agreed. A consultation exercise on the methodology of the new Index, which included a draft index, closed in January. This draft index showed illustrative rankings of all local authorities in England if the proposals contained in the methodology paper were adopted. The figures contained in the draft index may change as a result of further data checking, further testing of the index and the result of the consultation.