Deprivation and poverty

Indices of Deprivation

A national index of deprivation, known as the Indices of Deprivation, is published by Central Government to help local authorities identify the most disadvantaged areas so that resources and funding are allocated appropriately. 

Current Index

The latest index is the Indices of Deprivation 2010 (ID2010).  This was published by Communities and Local Government (CLG) on 24 March 2011.  To see how Kent's levels of deprivation (and areas within Kent) compare to other parts of England on this latest index visit the ID2010 section of this website.  

Previous Indices

Past versions of the Indices are also available.  The ID2010 updates the ID2007.  Results of the ID2007 are available from the ID2007 section.  The ID2007 updated the ID2004.  Results of the ID2004 are available from the ID2004 section. 

Households in poverty

A new dataset has been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that estimates the proportion of households in poverty.  The measure of poverty that has been used is the proportion of households whose mean weekly income, after housing costs, is below 60% of the England and Wales average.  Data comparing Kent levels of poverty alongside the national average are presented in the bulletin Households in Poverty (PDF, 326k).  An interactive mapping tool allowing you to view the proportion of households in poverty with the ability to zoom in and out of areas across England is available from the ONS household poverty interactive map.

Statistics are also available on the number of households in fuel poverty. A household is said to be "fuel poor" if it spends more than 10% of its income on fuel costs. The 2009 and 2008 data for England, the South East and Kent are presented in Fuel poverty in Kent 2009 (PDF, 406k).

Family Poverty

Kent County Council's approach to tackling family poverty is informed by a research assessment (2012). The analysis of national data sets is available in The Supporting Evidence report (PDF, 2Mb) and the summary of these and additional research sources are presented in The Research Analysis report (PDF, 475k). 

Using the child poverty measure as set out by the Child Poverty Act 2010, we are able to look at the number of children living in poverty. Figures for the Kent County Council area and the local authority districts as at August 2010 compared with the South East and England as a whole are presented in children in poverty - 2010, (PDF, 481k).

Homelessness

The term "homelessness" is often considered to apply only to people "sleeping rough". However this term also applies to those households who, for various reasons, are at risk of becoming homeless. Each local authority has a statutory obligation to provide advice and assistance to those households.  For more information see our homelessness summaries on our housing pages.

Unemployment and benefits

From this section you can access the latest unemployment statistics for Kent and the number of Kent residents claiming Government benefits