OCSI 'Deprivation in rural areas' published

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The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) has published the OCSI report ‘Deprivation in rural areas: Quantitative analysis and socio-economic classification’ . The report is available from http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/publications/deprivationquantitativefullreport.

OCSI were commissioned by CRC to undertake research to help fill gaps in the evidence base on rural deprivation, which was highlighted by the CRC Disadvantage Study in 2006. The outputs from the project will help inform CRC policy on issues related to rural disadvantage.

In particular CRC were looking to enhance the existing research-base on rural deprivation, as well as informing and supporting further research and qualitative assessment of the nature and characteristics of deprivation affecting communities in rural areas.

The report’s evidence does not provide an alternative to the ranking of local areas on the Index of Multiple Deprivation. It has been specifically designed to estimate the overall rural share of deprivation at an output area, regional and national level, and to identify very small area ‘hotspots’.

This means that the analysis can be used to highlight the existence of rural deprivation even in areas which are relatively prosperous.

For further detail, see the OCSI spotlight on rural exclusion www.ocsi.co.uk/spotlights/rural-exclusion.php (scroll to the bottom of the page).

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