Consultation outcome

Indices Futures: Updating the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD) - consultation

Updated 22 December 2022

Applies to England

Scope of the consultation

Topic of this consultation:

This consultation seeks input and views from all users of the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD) on there methodology, data sources and the potential shape any future release may take.

Scope of this consultation:

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is considering how best to update the IoD from the most recent publication in 2019. It is key that future updates of the IoD continue to meet the broadest range of user needs and uses whilst also continuing to draw on the most up-to-date and relevant data available to measure multiple deprivation at a small-area level. All aspects of the Indices are addressed within this consultation, and we welcome any and all user feedback on the 2019 release.

Geographical scope:

This consultation relates to statistics for England only.

Impact assessment:

An impact assessment is not required as this is a technical consultation relating to DLUHC statistical activity.

Basic information

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation:

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

Duration:

This consultation will last for 10 weeks from 15 July 2022 until 23 September 2022.

Enquiries:

For any enquiries about the consultation please contact: Indices.Deprivation@levellingup.gov.uk.

How to respond:

You may respond by completing our online survey.

We strongly encourage responses via the online survey, particularly from organisations with access to online facilities. Consultations receive a high-level of interest across many sectors. Using the online survey greatly assists our analysis of the responses, enabling more efficient and effective consideration of the issues raised.

Alternatively, you can email your response to each relevant question in this consultation to: Indices.Deprivation@levellingup.gov.uk.

If you are responding in writing, please make it clear which questions you are responding to.

Written responses should be sent to:

Updating the English Indices of Deprivation
Analysis and Data Directorate, Local Policy Analysis
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
2nd Floor, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Should you reply, it would be very useful if you could confirm whether you are doing so as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

• your name,

• your position (if applicable),

• the name of organisation (if applicable),

• an address (including post-code),

• an email address, and

• a contact telephone number

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

The English Index of Multiple Deprivation (the IMD), produced as part of the broader Indices of Multiple Deprivation (the IoD or the Indices), is the official measure of relative deprivation at small-area level in England. The IMD is designed to identify those small areas where there are the highest concentrations of several different types of deprivation. The Indices suite of resources are a designated National Statistic and are published by statisticians at the DLUHC. The most recent releases, the IoD2019, were constructed by a joint research partnership between Deprivation.org and Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI).

This open consultation formally invites user views and feedback on the IoD. No new proposals are introduced as part of this consultation, and timelines for any update are yet to be confirmed. Rather, we are keen to hear directly from users regarding their use of the IoD. This includes feedback on its methodology and data sources, and where and how the suite of outputs could be improved in future. Consultees are invited to make general comments, raise concerns and make suggestions on methods, domains, indicators and outputs at the relevant sections throughout via our online survey. We also plan to hold a series of more detailed discussions with specific user groups as part of this process.

It is key that future updates of the IoD continue to meet the broadest range of user needs and uses whilst also continuing to draw on the most up-to-date and relevant data available to measure multiple deprivation at a small-area level. Consulting at this time will allow responses to be acted upon, where feasible, and incorporated into any future IoD updates.

We are conscious that the pandemic will have had an impact on the datasets acquired to measure deprivation in the past few years, in at least 2 key ways. Firstly, on time periods, as some collections may have been suspended or altered over this period to account for the unprecedented changes the pandemic brought about at all levels of society. Secondly, in terms of trends and results. Increases in the number of people claiming work-based benefits, breaks and/or changes in educational attainment or the overarching pressures on the NHS, for example, will represent significant changes in underlying data counts, especially at a small area level. The true scale of these impacts on future Indices production will be more fully considered and investigated by the project team as part of any future commission. This consultation, however, asks users to reflect on the Indices construction and release more broadly.

Consulting users on their needs and the more general development of the Indices in the future also ensures that the Indices maintains their National Statistics designation, in compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and that the published statistics continue to have public value, are of high quality, and are produced by people and organisations that are trustworthy.

Responses to this consultation will be considered and published online within the timescales noted in Section 5 below.

1.2 Background to the Indices of Deprivation

For many years, the DLUHC and its predecessors have calculated local measures of deprivation in England. The IoD2019 is the latest release of these statistics, and they broadly retain the same methodology, domains and indicators as earlier iterations. See historic releases.

The IoD suite of outputs are a unique measure of deprivation at a small-area level across England. The Indices provide a set of relative measures based on 7 different domains, or facets, of deprivation. These are;

• Income Deprivation
• Employment Deprivation
• Education, Skills and Training Deprivation
• Health Deprivation and Disability
• Crime
• Barriers to Housing and Services
• Living Environment Deprivation

Each domain is constructed from a basket of different datasets drawn predominantly from data which the government collects as part of its duty; administrative data such as benefit claimants, health records or educational attainment records. The 7 individual domains of deprivation are combined and weighted individually to produce an overall eighth relative measure of deprivation, the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

There are 2 supplementary indices: the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) and the Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI). In all, the IoD2019 suite of resources comprises 10 individual indexes. Figure 1.1 below helps to illustrate.

The IoD2019 technical report and research report set out more detail about all aspects of the Indices.

Figure 1.1: Overview of the IoD domains

Accessible version

There are 7 domains of deprivation, which combine to create the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD2019):

• Income (22.5%): measures the proportion of the population experiencing deprivation relating to low income. Supplementary indices:
  • Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI): measures the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families
  • Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI): measures the proportion of those aged 60+ who experience income deprivation
• Employment (22.5%): measures the proportion of the working age population in an area involuntarily excluded from the labour market
• Education (13.5%): measures the lack of attainment and skills in the local population
• Health (13.5%): measures the risk of premature death and the impairment of quality of life through poor physical or mental health
• Crime (9.3%): measures the risk of personal and material victimisation at local level
• Barriers to Housing and Services (9.3%): measures the physical and financial accessibility of housing and local services
• Living Environment (9.3%): measures the quality of both the ‘indoor’ and ‘outdoor’ local environment

1.2.1 Geography

The IMD, and each separate domain, are area-based measures designed to identify places where there is a relative concentration of several different types of deprivation, rather than to identify specific individuals who are experiencing deprivation. Data is aggregated and presented at small-area level known as Lower-layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs).

LSOAs are a standard statistical geography designed to be of a similar population size, with an average of approximately 1,500 residents or 650 households. There are currently 32,844 LSOAs in England. LSOAs are produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of each Census for the purpose of reporting small-area statistics as they evenly divide up the country by population. For ease of communication, LSOAs are sometimes referred to as ‘neighbourhoods’ or small-areas in the IoD documentation and are roughly equivalent to a postcode area.

As part of the published suite of resources, LSOA data is aggregated to a set of standard administrative geographies (Local Authorities, both upper and lower tier, Local Enterprise Partnerships and Clinical Commissioning Groups) to help meet immediate user needs and facilitate a broad range of analysis.

1.3 Scoping Future Indices

An update to the Indices is considered every 3 – 5 years. However, an update to the IoD2019 is yet to be formally commissioned. Whilst a review of the data landscape forms part of initial scoping work for each iteration, since September 2019 there have been significant changes across the use and development of small-area measures, directly impacting the Indices, which this consultation looks to consider and on which we seek users’ feedback.

One important shift has been the change in the overarching policy context around the Indices. The extensive use of the Indices as a tool to measure spatial disparity at small-area level, alongside other metrics, remains and continues to grow (see point 1.3 of the IoD2019 research report for examples).

In addition, alongside these uses, the DLUHC’s Levelling Up white paper has brought with it a renewed focus on social justice and spatial disparities, not just within England, but across the UK more broadly. Its 12 key missions set out a road map for government to address geographic inequalities, which the Indices take a central role in quantifying.

Related to this are a whole range of data and analytical focused government strategies, policies and initiatives, such as the National Data Strategy or the Government Statistical Group subnational data strategy, which will also help shape future releases. How the IoD can contribute, continue to meet, and develop further to meet more of, these emerging needs is important to consider.

Equally, the use of the Indices in helping to identify areas across England which may be in need of support or specific policy intervention remains constant. Indeed, this forms one of the release’s key drivers and core uses. The 7 individual domains and 2 supplementary domains focus on distinct types of deprivation. The use of each, or the combined IMD measure, to help form part of an evidence base is often central in informing users understanding about the relative challenges in an area more broadly. Ensuring that domains and indicators continue to be relevant in this way, are robust, can align and still be used in helping to build this bigger picture, is also essential to assess through a user consultation.

More practically, there have also been several significant changes to data sources used in producing the IoD. These changes may force some domains and indicators to be constructed differently in the future – if important data collections have now ceased or have changed significantly, causing compatibility issues, for instance. However, changes may also present new opportunities and potentially yield new useful indicators – brand new datasets, new Census outputs or new lower-level aggregations of existing datasets, for example. The challenges and possibilities here are important to explore ahead of any future release, in conjunction with direct user input.

Specifically, the production team are being driven to consider adjustments or alternatives to indicators through other strategic developments across several key domains – developments such as the reform of the benefits system, and transition to Universal Credit for example. The impacts of the pandemic across all data inputs, but more specifically the education and health domain indicators, may also require more specific consideration and treatment as part of any future commission.

There is recognition too that some domains and/or indicators may need adapting or reviewing to improve our current measures of deprivation, more closely aligning them to current experiences and circumstances. Consideration for indicators measuring access to reliable broadband, green spaces, the prevalence of childhood/adult obesity or the impacts of the pandemic, as mentioned, offer some examples here. Users’ views on the impacts such changes may have across domains, and on where any such focus should be, will also help to shape future releases.

1.4 Report structure

This first section of the Indices Futures consultation provides an overview of the Indices, setting out some introductory background, timings and what the aims of consulting users are at this time. Following on, section 2 goes deeper, focusing more specifically on the methods and data criteria used as part of Indices construction and the overall IMD measure. The first set of consultation questions can be found here.

The third section covers all domains individually, providing space for respondents to address any specific feedback or views on each of the 7 individual indexes which comprise the overall IMD measure. Similar questions are posed for each domain and users are encouraged to only answer where most applicable – if you have no views or feedback on some domains, please leave responses blank. Section 4 focuses on the outputs and resources published as part of the IoD2019, and section 5 closes, providing further detail on next steps.

2. Method

2.1 Methodological overview and statistical techniques

The construction of the IoD2019, including the IMD, broadly consisted of the 7 stages, illustrated in Figure 2.1 below. More detail is available in the IoD2019 technical report. These stages fulfil the purposes of defining the Indices, data inputs and data processing procedures, producing the IMD and summary measures.

1. Dimensions (referred to as domains) of deprivation are identified.

2. Indicators are chosen to provide the best possible measure of each domain of deprivation.

3. ‘Shrinkage estimation’ is used to improve reliability of the small area data.

4. Indicators are combined to form the domains, generating separate domain scores. These can be regarded as indices in their own right – the domain indices.

5. Domain scores are ranked, and the domain ranks are transformed to a specified exponential distribution.

6. The exponentially transformed domain scores are combined using appropriate domain weights to form an overall Index of Multiple Deprivation at small area level. This stage completes the construction of the Indices of Deprivation 2019 at LSOA level.

7. The overall Index of Multiple Deprivation, the domains and the supplementary indices are summarised for higher level geographical areas such as Local Authority Districts.

Figure 2.1: Overview of the methodology used to construct the Indices of Deprivation 2019

As illustrated, the construction of the IoD involves the use of 4 particular statistical techniques or processes summarised below. Their purpose is to improve the reliability of some of the indicators, to inform how indicators should be combined in their respective domains (or sub-domains) and to combine the separate domains into the overall IMD.

• Shrinkage estimation. Where a rate or other measure of deprivation for an LSOA is based on small numbers, the resulting estimate may be unreliable, with an unacceptably high standard error. The technique of shrinkage estimation is used to ‘borrow strength’ from larger areas to avoid creating unreliable small area data. The larger areas used for shrinkage in previous Indices are Local Authority districts.

• Factor analysis. In some domains indicators cannot be expressed as simple rates but are constructed from a combination of indicators measured in different ways. Factor analysis is used to determine what weight to give each of these indicators when combining them. It does this by testing the extent to which each of the indicators measure the underlying aspect of deprivation.

• Exponential transformation. This is intended to help with the identification of the most deprived areas when the 7 domains of deprivation are combined into the IMD, and to control the extent that deprivation on one domain is cancelled out by lack of deprivation on another.

• Weighting. The domains are given explicit weights to create the IMD based on the following criteria;

  • The Income and Employment Deprivation Domains carry a higher weight than the other domains based on research and wider academic literature which is further detailed in the IoD2019 technical report.
  • Domains with the most robust indicators should be given greater weights. Only those indicators which are sufficiently robust are included within the Indices. This is assessed by extensive and detailed quality assurance testing, consulting with data providers and the experience of the project team.

The IoD2019 technical report and research report set out the techniques, their application and the processes involved with each method as part of Indices construction in more detail.

Considerable assessment of each technique was undertaken previously as part of IoD2015 production, forming a significant part of a comprehensive user consultation. More detail and response to this consultation can also be found online.

Previous methodological assessment and consultation on earlier iterations of the IoD have told us that users place the highest value on consistency in method and data inputs alongside timeliness of data releases. As a result, the IoD2019 followed on from this work, incorporating the same methods and process as the IoD2015.

2.2 Data criteria

As part of each iteration of the Indices, all 7 domains of deprivation from the previous release are assessed to determine whether or not the indicators used:

• are still appropriate measures of deprivation for that domain
• can be updated
• can be strengthened, for example as a result of better data being available

All indicators and data sources must meet the same criteria as for each of the previous iterations. Indicators should:

• be ‘domain specific’ and appropriate for the purpose (as far as possible, being direct measures of that form of deprivation)
• measure major features of that domain of deprivation (not conditions just experienced by a small number of people or areas)
• be up-to-date and (as far as possible) updateable wherever possible. However, not all indicators can be regularly updated, for example those based on Census data. Census data is used only when alternative data from administrative sources is not available
• be statistically robust at the small area level
• be available for the whole of England at a small area level in a consistent form

The aim for each domain is to include a selection of indicators that comprehensively captured the deprivation for each domain, within the constraints of data availability and the criteria listed above. As part of each iteration the project team undertakes considerable exploratory work to assess whether there are possible new indicators which would improve each measure of deprivation and which meet the criteria listed above.

2.2.1 Data time points

As far as possible, each indicator is based on data from the most recent time point available. Using the latest available data in this way means there is not a single consistent time point for all indicators across each IoD release. However, as with previous Indices, the IoD2019 makes use of Census data only when alternative data from administrative sources is not available.

Equally, as a result of the time points for which some datasets are made available, some indicators can lag in terms of how accurately they can account for more recent changes to policy or process. For example, the 2015/16 benefits data used in the Income Deprivation Domain as part of the IoD2019 predate the full rollout of Universal Credit, which only began replacing certain income and health related benefits from May 2016. This means that although the data from 2015/16 meets the essential data criteria outlined above, it is not as up to date as other data indicators due to changes in how it was administrated.

2.2.2 Harmonisation

Separate Indices of Deprivation are constructed for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Though not directly comparable, each suite of outputs is based on the same model and conceptual framework of deprivation. However, each nation interprets and measures deprivation differently, reflecting different national challenges, geographies, demographics and societies. See more on the similarities and differences between the Indices of Deprivation across the UK.

As a supplement to the IoD2019, the DLUHC and Welsh Government published consistent Income and Employment Deprivation data across England and Wales at LSOA level, demonstrating the possibilities and consistencies in outputs which may come with closer harmonisation in future.

Consultation questions for consideration

Overview Q.1 How do you make use of the Indices of Deprivation in your work?

Overview Q.2 Do you make use of individual domains, supplementary indices, the combined IMD measure or a combination thereof?

Overview Q.3 How would any change to the Indices methodology, the indicators used, or the overall IMD measure potentially impact on your work?

Method Q.1 Do you have any general comments regarding the methodology used to construct the Indices or the overall IMD measure?

Method Q.2 Do you have any general comments regarding the criteria used to select datasets for inclusion in the Indices?

Method Q.3 Would greater harmonisation across the UK nations individual Indices releases be useful or of interest to you? If so, how?

Rank Q.1 Please rank the following factors in priority order according to your needs (1 being highest priority and 5 being lowest of those listed) – see survey to complete.

3. Domains and Indicators of Deprivation

The following sections provide a summary of each of the 7 domains used to construct the IMD and published as part of the IoD2019. Alongside this, individual domain methods, indicators and consultation questions have also been included. We welcome responses to some or all of these question via our online user survey.

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in the IoD2019 technical report

3.1 Income Deprivation Domain

The Income Deprivation Domain measures the proportion of the population in an area experiencing deprivation relating to low income. The definition of low income used includes both those people that are out of work, and those that are in work but who have low earnings (and who satisfy the respective means tests).

The indicators used to measure this domain are as follows:

a) Adults and children in Income Support families (here ‘family’ is used to designate a ‘benefit unit’, that is the claimant, any partner and any dependent children for whom Child Benefit is received)

b) Adults and children in income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance families

c) Adults and children in income-based Employment and Support Allowance families

d) Adults and children in Pension Credit (Guarantee) families

e) Adults and children in Universal Credit families where no adult is classed within the ‘Working - no requirements’ conditionality group

f) Adults and children in Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit families not already counted, that is those who are not in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit (Guarantee), and whose equivalised income (excluding housing benefit) is below 60 per cent of the median before housing costs

g) Asylum seekers in England in receipt of subsistence support, accommodation support, or both.

Indicators a – e comprise a non-overlapping count of the number of adults and children in an LSOA living in families claiming Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit (‘Searching for work’, ‘No work requirements’, ‘Planning for work’ ‘Working – with requirements’ and ‘Preparing for work’ conditionality groups) or Pension Credit (Guarantee). Data for August 2015 was sourced from databases held by the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs.

For indicator f, the Child Tax Credit component was constructed as the number of adults and children per LSOA living in Child Tax Credit families, who were not claiming benefit indicators a – d and whose equivalised income (excluding housing benefits) was below 60 per cent of the national median before housing costs. Regarding indicator e, at the time it was not possible to claim Universal Credit as well as Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit.

The Working Tax Credit component of indicator f was constructed as the number of adults in an LSOA in receipt of Working Tax Credit, who were not already claiming indicators a – d, not already claiming Child Tax Credit and whose equivalised income (excluding housing benefits) was below 60% of the national median before housing costs. Data for indicator f was sourced from a database held by HM Revenue & Customs for an August 2015 timepoint.

Indicator g counts the number of asylum seekers (adults and children) per LSOA who were in receipt of subsistence support, accommodation support or both. Data for August 2015 was supplied by the Home Office.

The counts for each of these indicators at LSOA level were summed to produce a non-overlapping overall count of income deprived individuals. This overall count was then expressed as a proportion of the total population of the LSOA for mid-2015 (based on Office for National Statistics estimates) less the prison population (from the Ministry of Justice). Shrinkage was applied to construct the overall domain score.

In addition, 2 supplementary indexes were created as part of this domain, which are subsets of the Income Deprivation Domain. These are the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) and the Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI).

The IDACI measures the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families. The IDAOPI measures the proportion of all those aged 60 or over who experience income deprivation.

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.3 the IoD2019 technical report. Supplementing the IoD2019, consistent Income and Employment Deprivation data across England and Wales at LSOA level was also constructed and published, in collaboration with Welsh Government.

Changes are likely to be required of this domain going forward due to the onset of Universal Credit and we are currently exploring the challenges and opportunities for improving this domain.

Consultation questions for consideration

Income Q.1 How do you use this domain or the supplementary domains affecting children (IDACI) or older people (IDAOPI)?

Income Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Income Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Income Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

Income Q.5 Data measuring Income and Employment deprivation has been produced across England and Wales, using a consistent methodology. Is this something you have made use of? If so, how?

Income Q.6 If you would like to be involved in any future exploration of this domain, as part of a steering group or more detailed discussion for example, please confirm via survey response.

3.2 Employment Deprivation Domain

The Employment Deprivation Domain measures the proportion of the working-age population in an area who are involuntarily excluded from the labour market. This includes people who would like to work but are unable to do so due to unemployment, sickness or disability, or caring responsibilities.

The indicators used to measure this domain are as follows:

a) Claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance (both contribution-based and income-based), women aged 18 to 59 and men aged 18 to 64

b) Claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (both contribution-based and income-based), women aged 18 to 59 and men aged 18 to 64

c) Claimants of Incapacity Benefit, women aged 18 to 59 and men aged 18 to 64

d) Claimants of Severe Disablement Allowance, women aged 18 to 59 and men aged 18 to 64

e) Claimants of Carer’s Allowance, women aged 18 to 59 and men aged 18 to 64

f) Claimants of Universal Credit in the ‘Searching for work’ and ‘No work requirements’ conditionality groups.

Indicator a, Claimants of Jobseeker’s Allowance, was the primary measure of unemployment levels for small areas as of 2015/16 as the benefit was paid to individuals who were out of work, available for work and who were actively seeking work.

Indicators b, c and d were paid to individuals who were unable to work due to limiting illness or disability. Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance are no longer available for new claimants: Incapacity Benefit replaced Severe Disablement Allowance for new claimants in April 2001 and Employment and Support Allowance replaced Incapacity Benefit and Income Support paid because of an illness or disability for new claimants from October 2008. However, at the time of construction, there were still a number of long-term sickness benefit claimants receiving Severe Disablement Allowance and Incapacity Benefit, hence all 3 were included as indicators for this domain in the IoD2019.

Indicator e, measuring Carers Allowance, accounted for those adults who were involuntarily excluded from the labour market due to caring responsibilities. At the time, carer’s allowance was payable to people aged 16 or over who provide unpaid care for at least 35 hours a week to someone who is in receipt of disability or social care benefits, not in full-time education or studying, and earnt less than £102 a week.

Indicator f was added in 2019 to account for the first stages of Universal Credit (UC) rollout. At the time, people in the ‘Searching for work’ conditionality group were not working or had very low earnings, and were required to take action to secure work, or more / better paid work. This category had strong overlap in terms of eligibility criteria and conditionality arrangements with income-based Jobseekers Allowance. Similarly, people in the ‘No work requirements’ conditionality group were not expected to work and were likely to have health or caring responsibilities that prevented them from working or preparing for work. This category also had a strong overlap in eligibility criteria and conditionality arrangements with a subset of income-based Employment and Support and Carers Allowance.

Including this additional indicator allowed counts to incorporate claimants who were originally claiming Jobseekers Allowance (indicator a above) but whose circumstances had changed and were subsequently moved on to UC as part of its initial rollout. Along with ensuring compatibility between UC and legacy benefits, this indicator also helped to ensure that all similar types of claimants were incorporated as required, regardless of which of the two benefit they were claiming.

Data for all 6 indicators was provided by the Department for Work and Pensions, constructed from administrative records of benefit claimants in such a way to create a non-overlapping count of claimants. To account for seasonal variations in employment deprivation, 4 quarterly cuts were taken for each indicator and the average number of claimants across the 4 quarterly cuts calculated for each of the 6 indicators.

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.4 of the IoD2019 technical report. Supplementing the IoD2019, consistent Income and Employment Deprivation data across England and Wales at LSOA level was also constructed and published, in collaboration with Welsh Government.

Changes are likely to be required of this domain going forward due to the onset of Universal Credit and we are currently exploring the challenges and opportunities for improving this domain.

Consultation questions for consideration

Employment Q.1 How do you use this domain?

Employment Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Employment Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Employment Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

Employment Q.5 Data measuring Income and Employment deprivation has been produced across England and Wales, using a consistent methodology. Is this something you have made use of? If so, how?

Employment Q.6 If you would like to be involved in any future exploration of this domain, as part of a steering group or more detailed discussion for example, please confirm via survey response.

3.3 Education, Skills and Training Deprivation Domain

The Education, Skills and Training Domain measures the lack of attainment and skills in the local population. The indicators fall into 2 sub-domains: one relating to children and young people and one relating to adult skills. These 2 sub-domains are designed to reflect the ‘flow’ and ‘stock’ of educational disadvantage within an area respectively. That is, the ‘children and young people’ sub-domain measures the attainment of qualifications and associated measures (‘flow’), while the ‘skills’ sub-domain measures the lack of qualifications in the resident working-age adult population (‘stock’).

The indicators used to measure this domain as part of the IoD2019 are listed below with the data sources for each indicator also noted.

Children and Young People sub-domain

• Key Stage 2 attainment (Department for Education)
• Key Stage 4 attainment (Department for Education)
• Secondary school absence (Department for Education)
• Young people not staying on in school or non-advanced education above age 16 (HM Revenue & Customs)
• Young people aged under 21 not entering higher education (Higher Education Statistics Agency)

Adult Skills sub-domain

• Adult skills: The proportion of working-age adults with no or low qualifications, women aged 25 to 59 and men aged 25 to 64 (Census 2011)
• English language proficiency: The proportion of working-age adults who cannot speak English or cannot speak English well, women aged 25 to 59 and men aged 25 to 64 (Census 2011)

The continuation of education post 16 indicator was retained from the IoD2015 due to changes in law. The Education and Skills Act 2008 introduced changes to the minimum age at which young people in England can leave education and learning. The Act stipulated that young people must continue in education or training to the age of 17 from 2013 and to 18 from 2014. As a result of these changes to the compulsory school leaving age, updated data was not available for the IoD2019. The indicator was therefore retained from the IoD2015 and measures the proportion of young people not staying on in school or nonadvanced education above age 16. Alternatives to this indicator will need to be considered going forward.

The indicators within the Children and Young People sub-domain were standardised by ranking and transforming to a normal distribution. The maximum likelihood factor analysis technique was used to generate the weights to combine the indicators into the subdomain scores. See Table 3.3.1 below.

Table 3.3.1: Indicator weights generated by factor analysis for the Children and Young People sub-domain

Indicator	Indicator Weight
Key Stage 2 attainment	0.210
Key Stage 4 attainment	0.251
Secondary school absence	0.205
Staying on in education post 16	0.126
Entry to higher education	0.208

Indicators within the Adult Skills sub-domain were the proportion of adults with no or low qualifications and/or lack of English language proficiency. As these were already combined into a non-overlapping indicator, no further combination was needed within the sub-domain.

The 2 sub-domains were then standardised by ranking and transforming to an exponential distribution and combined with equal weights to create the overall domain score.

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.5 of the IoD2019 technical report.

Consultation questions for consideration

Education Q.1 How do you use this domain?

Education Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Education Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Education Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

3.4 Health Deprivation and Disability Domain

The Health Deprivation and Disability Domain measures the risk of premature death and the impairment of quality of life through poor physical or mental health. The domain measures morbidity, disability and premature mortality but not aspects of behaviour or environment that may be predictive of future health deprivation.

The indicators used to measure this domain as part of the IoD2019 are listed below with the data sources for each indicator also noted.

• Years of potential life lost: An age and sex standardised measure of premature death (Office for National Statistics)
• Comparative illness and disability ratio: An age and sex standardised morbidity/disability ratio (Department for Work and Pensions)
• Acute morbidity: An age and sex standardised rate of emergency admission to hospital (Health and Social Care Information Centre and NHS Digital)
• Mood and anxiety disorders: A composite based on the rate of adults suffering from mood and anxiety disorders, derived from hospital episodes data, prescribing data and suicide mortality data (Health and Social Care Information Centre, NHS Digital, Office for National Statistics)

The years of potential life lost indicator measures ‘premature death’, defined as death before the age of 75 from any cause (the commonly used measure of premature death). This includes death due to disease as well as external causes such as accidents, unlawful killing and deaths in combat.

The comparative illness and disability ratio is an indicator of work limiting morbidity and disability, based on those receiving benefits due to inability to work through ill health.

The acute morbidity indicator measures the level of emergency admissions to hospital, based on administrative records of in-patient admissions. Only admissions to NHS hospitals are included in the data.

The mood and anxiety disorders indicator is a broad measure of levels of mental ill health in the local population. The definition used for this indicator includes mood (affective), neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders. The indicator is an estimate based on 3 separate sources:

• prescribing data - the number of patients within a particular GP practice with mental health problems was estimated using information on the conditions for which particular drugs are prescribed and their typical dosages.
• hospital episodes data - the proportion of the population suffering severe mental health problems relating to depression and anxiety, based on all those who have had an inpatient spell for reason of mental ill health. The indicator is an annual count of those suffering at least one severe mental health inpatient spell during the year.
• suicide mortality data - the proportion of deaths that occurred between 2013 and 2017 which had specific International Classification of Disease 10 codes

Although none of the 3 sources on their own provide a comprehensive measure of mood and anxiety disorders, used in combination they represent a large proportion of all those suffering mental ill health.

The 3 independent administrative data sources were then combined to reduce the influence of under- or over-recording on any one source using weights generated by factor analysis, see Table 3.4.1 below.

Table 3.4.1: Indicator weights generated by factor analysis for the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Indicator

Indicator	Indicator Weight
Prescribing data	0.415
Hospital episodes data	0.381
Suicide mortality data	0.205

From here, all 4 main indicators within the domain were standardised by ranking and transforming to a normal distribution. Factor analysis was used to generate the weights to combine the indicators into the final domain score, see Table 3.4.2 below.

Table 3.4.2: Indicator weights generated by factor analysis for the Health Deprivation and Disability Domain

Indicator	Indicator Weight
Years of potential life lost	0.271
Comparative illness and disability ratio	0.300
Acute morbidity	0.256
Mood and anxiety disorders	0.172

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.6 of the IoD2019 technical report.

Consultation questions for consideration

Health Q.1 How do you use this domain?

Health Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Health Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Health Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

3.5 Crime Domain

Crime is an important feature of deprivation that has major effects on individuals and communities. The Crime Domain measures the risk of personal and material victimisation at local level. The indicators used to measure this domain as part of the IoD2019 are:

• Violence: The rate of violence per 1,000 at-risk population
• Burglary: The rate of burglary per 1,000 at-risk properties
• Theft: The rate of theft per 1,000 at-risk population
• Criminal Damage: The rate of criminal damage per 1,000 at-risk population

Recorded crime data for 2016/17 and 2017/18 was used and was made available via the National Police Chiefs Council and the Home Office.

The Crime Domain was constructed in 3 stages. At stage 1 a list of notifiable offence codes that were active during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 statistical years were identified, which best replicated the definitions of the 4 Crime Domain indicators ‘violence’, ‘burglary’, ‘theft’ and ‘criminal damage’. At stage 2 individual level geocoded crime records for this list of notifiable offences were extracted from the recorded crime data made available and assigned to 1 of the 4 indicators. For stage 3, LSOA level counts were constructed for each indicator by aggregating the individual event-level geocoded crime data.

The crime count for each of the violence, theft and criminal damage indicators is expressed as a crime rate per 1,000 ‘at-risk’ population. This rate is based on mid-year population estimates from the Office for National Statistics. For the burglary indicator the crime count is expressed as a crime rate per 1,000 ‘at-risk’ properties using a combination of Census 2011 data and 2018 Ordnance Survey’s Address Base data.

Finally, shrinkage was applied to the LSOA level rates for each indicator, to produce the 4 indicator scores. There were then standardised by ranking and transforming to a normal distribution. Factor analysis was used to generate the weights to combine the indicators into the domain score, see Table 3.5.1 below.

Table 3.5.1: Indicator weights generated by factor analysis for the Crime Domain

Indicator	Indicator Weight
Violence	0.338
Burglary	0.166
Theft	0.189
Criminal damage	0.307

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.7 of the IoD2019 technical report.

Consultation questions for consideration

Crime Q.1 How do you use this domain?

Crime Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Crime Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Crime Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

3.6 Barriers to Housing and Services Domain

The Barriers to Housing and Services Domain measures the physical and financial accessibility of housing and local services. The indicators fall into 2 sub-domains: ‘geographical barriers’, which relate to the physical proximity of local services, and ‘wider barriers’ which includes issues relating to access to housing, such as affordability.

The indicators used to measure this domain as part of the IoD2019 are summarised below.

Geographical Barriers sub-domain

• Road distance to a post office: A measure of the mean road distance to the closest post office for people living in the LSOA
• Road distance to a primary school: A measure of the mean road distance to the closest primary school for people living in the LSOA
• Road distance to a general store or supermarket: A measure of the mean road distance to the closest supermarket or general store for people living in the LSOA
• Road distance to a GP surgery: A measure of the mean road distance to the closest GP surgery for people living in the LSOA.

Wider Barriers sub-domain

• Household overcrowding: The proportion of all households in a LSOA which are judged to have insufficient space to meet the household’s needs
• Homelessness: Local Authority level rate of acceptances for housing assistance under the homelessness provisions of the 1996 Housing Act, assigned to the constituent LSOA
• Housing affordability: Difficulty of access to owner-occupation or the private rental market, expressed as the inability to afford to enter owner-occupation or the private rental market.

The 4 road distance indicators were chosen for the Indices of Deprivation 2000 and retained in each subsequent update as they relate to key services that are important for people’s day-to-day life and to which people need to have good geographical access. All road distance indicators are constructed in the same way.

Grid reference locations of Post Offices were supplied by Post Office Ltd, locations of primary schools were obtained from the Department for Education, grid reference locations of food shops were obtained from the Ordnance Survey MISO dataset and locations of GP premises were obtained from NHS Digital.

Initially, the road distance to the closest service from the population weighted centroid of each Output Area was calculated using a geographic information system application. To create an average road distance for the LSOA, a population-weighted mean of the Output Area road distance was used. Each Output Area score was weighted according to the proportion of the LSOA population that is within the Output Area, and the weighted scores summed. The Output Area level population estimates used for population-weighting were taken from mid-2017 small area population estimates at Output Area level published by the Office for National Statistics.

The household overcrowding indicator is the proportion of households in each LSOA that are classed as overcrowded according to the Census 2011. The numerator is the number of overcrowded households in the LSOA, while the denominator is the number of households in the same area, which is also taken from the 2011 Census.

The Local Authority level homelessness indicator is expressed as the rate of acceptances for housing assistance under the homelessness provisions of housing legislation. Rates were then assigned to each constituent LSOA, with each such area in a Local Authority area given the same rate. Here, homelessness is defined as applications made to local housing authorities under the homelessness provisions of housing legislation where a decision was made and the applicant was found to be eligible for assistance (acceptances). The numerator data are drawn from the statutory homelessness statistics published on a quarterly basis by the DLUHC and cover the 3-year period from 2015/16 to 2017/18. The denominator is the number of households in the Local Authority based upon the projections produced by the Office for National Statistics.

The housing affordability indicator is a measure of the inability to afford to enter owner occupation or the private rental market. The indicator is a modelled estimate based on house prices and rents in the relevant Housing Market Area and modelled incomes at LSOA level with a 2016 time point. The main data sources used for the IoD2019 were the Family Resources Survey for household incomes and composition, the Land Registry for house prices, and the Valuation Office Agency for market rents.

To combine into the overall Barriers to Housing and Services Domain, the relevant indicators within each of the sub-domains were standardised by ranking and transforming to a normal distribution and combined using equal weights. The subdomains were then standardised by ranking and transforming to an exponential distribution and combined with equal weights to create the overall domain score.

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.8 of the IoD2019 technical report.

Consultation questions for consideration

Barriers Q.1 How do you use this domain?

Barriers Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Barriers Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Barriers Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

3.7 Living Environment Deprivation Domain

The Living Environment Deprivation Domain measures the quality of the local environment. The indicators fall into 2 sub-domains. The ‘indoors’ living environment measures the quality of housing; while the ‘outdoors’ living environment contains measures of air quality and road traffic accidents.

The indicators used to measure this domain as part of the IoD2019 are summarised below.

Indoors sub-domain

• Houses without central heating: The proportion of houses that do not have central heating
• Housing in poor condition: The proportion of social and private homes that fail to meet the Decent Homes standard.

Outdoors sub-domain

• Air quality: A measure of air quality based on emissions rates for 4 pollutants
• Road traffic accidents involving injury to pedestrians and cyclists.

The houses without central heating indicator is used as a measure of housing which is expensive to heat. The numerator is the number of houses without central heating in the LSOA while the denominator is the number of households in the area. The data was taken from the Census 2011 and identifies the proportion of houses in each LSOA that do not have central heating in any room.

The housing in poor condition indicator is a modelled estimate of the proportion of social and private homes that fail to meet the Decent Homes standard. A property fails the Decent Homes Standard if it fails to meet 4 key components around safety, condition, modern standards, and thermal comfort. Each of these components was modelled separately, using data from the 2015 English Housing Survey at national level, in combination with a commercial dataset that provides information on the age, type, tenure and occupant characteristics of the housing stock at individual dwelling level. Failure likelihood factors for individual dwellings were generated by segmentation analysis and logistic regression models. These were then aggregated to LSOA level.

The indicator is an estimate of the concentration of the 4 pollutants nitrogen dioxide, benzene, sulphur dioxide and particulates. Values for each of the pollutants were based on 2016 air quality data published by the UK Air Information Resource and modelled to LSOA level.

The road traffic accidents involving injury to pedestrians and cyclists indicator is based on reported accidents that involve death or personal injury to a pedestrian or cyclist. The indicator uses data for 2015 to 2017 published by the Department for Transport, with 3 years of data used to reduce the problem of small numbers.

To combine the indicators to create each sub-domain, all indicators within each of the sub-domain were standardised by ranking and transforming to a normal distribution then combined using equal weights. The sub-domains were standardised by ranking and transforming to an exponential distribution. Lastly, the domain was created by summing the 2 sub-domains, weighted according to patterns of ‘indoors’ and ‘outdoors’ time use. As with the IoD2015, the Indoors Living Environment sub-domain was given two thirds of the domain’s weight, and the Outdoors Living Environment sub-domain, one-third.

More comprehensive detail on each domain can be found online in section 4.9 of the IoD2019 technical report.

Consultation questions for consideration

Living Q.1 How do you use this domain?

Living Q.2 Are there any changes that could be made to this domain?

Living Q.3 Would changes to the methodology or data indicators used to construct this domain affect your use of it?

Living Q.4 Are there other indicators or data sources you think could be explored to measure this domain of deprivation?

4. Outputs and dissemination

4.1 Geography and spatial scale of outputs

The IoD2019 was produced at LSOA level, using the current 2011 Census boundaries. Scores and ranks were produced for:

• the 7 individual domains
• the combined Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
• the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)
• the Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI)

Population denominators are also available as part of the release.

Summary aggregations are available for the following higher-level geographies:

• Local Authority District Summaries
• Upper-tier Local Authority Summaries
• Local Enterprise Partnership Summaries
• Clinical Commissioning Group Summaries
• IoD2015 Data Recast to 2019 Local Authority District Boundaries (lower-tier)

The summary measures for higher-level geographies include a range of bespoke measures, each designed to help summarise small-area deprivation at a larger geographic scale. More detail on each measure can be found;

• in the accompanying online tables
• throughout the IoD2019 technical report, but specifically point 3.8
• and throughout the IoD2019 research report, but specifically point 3.3

4.2 Open data

As part of the IoD2019 release, all datasets were made available in fully open and linkable formats via DLUHC’s Open Data Communities platform.

Links to neighbourhood-level postcode data and Local Authority district level data were embedded across guidance documentation to help facilitate user access.

The 2015 postcode explorer tool was also refreshed as part of the IoD2019 release. The IoD2019 postcode look-up tool now illustrates the relative deprivation of neighbourhoods for selected areas according to all domains from the IoD2019 and IoD2015, allowing users to search by a place name or postcode. An explorer dashboard was also added, which provides a brief summary of how relatively deprived the area selected is in each iteration.

4.3 Mapping resources

New interactive tools were created as part of the IoD2019 release.

An entry level Local Authority dashboard was created for users new to the Indices. The tool allows users to explore the range of summary measures across the IoD2019 at Local Authority level and the LSOAs within each district.

A Geopackage for more advanced users was also created. This includes shapefiles, mapping templates, formatted datasets and further mapping resources to help facilitate best practice and ease of use when creating more bespoke maps.

Additionally, in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, DLUHC created a suite of Local Authority maps covering each district in England, as at the time of release. Each map uses the IMD2019 to illustrate deprivation at LSOA level within each area. Each map also displays the number of LSOAs each area has in each decile of deprivation and sets a standard for best practice in interpretation and presentation, while also providing quick and easy access to resources.

All mapping resources are available from our online IoD2019 mapping resources page.

Consultation questions for consideration

Outputs Q.1 Which tools and outputs do you make most use of?

Outputs Q.2 Which geographic scale of data best meets you needs?

Outputs Q.2.1 Which summary measures of aggregated Indices data do you make use of in your analysis? Please select all that apply.

Outputs Q.3 How easy or difficult do you find Indices statistics to use? On this scale, 1 represents very difficult and 5 represents very easy – please respond via online survey.

Outputs Q.3.1 Does the current suite of outputs and guidance material meet your needs? If not, what additions would you like to see?

Outputs Q.4 Is there anything you try to do with Indices of Deprivation data that could be made easier?

Future Q.1 If you would like to be involved in any future exploration of any deprivation domains or methods, as part of a steering group or more detailed discussion for example, please let us know by responding via our online survey.

5. Next steps and closing

5.1 Next steps

This consultation exercise begins on 15 July 2022 and runs for 10 weeks. The deadline for all response is midnight on 23 September 2022. A summary of responses to this consultation will be published in autumn 2022.

Alongside this document and online survey, we plan to engage with some known user groups on specific aspect of the Indices release for more detailed feedback and comment. If you are interested in finding out more, please let us know via email: indices.deprivation@levellingup.gov.uk.

We would welcome any other comments on the proposals for a future Indices release not already covered.

5.2 Closing

Many thanks again for your time and consideration while responding to this consultation. Your feedback and comments are hugely valuable in helping DLUHC shape any future Indices release.

Plans for an update to the IoD2019 have yet to be formally announced. If you would like to be added to our subscribers list to receive future updates about the Indices, please email the team directly: indices.deprivation@levellingup.gov.uk.

About this consultation

This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.

Information provided in response to this consultation may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and UK data protection legislation. In certain circumstances this may therefore include personal data when required by law.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the information access regimes and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will at all times process your personal data in accordance with UK data protection legislation and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included below.

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or by writing to the following address:

Data Protection Officer
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.

Sensitive types of personal data

Please do not share special category personal data or criminal offence data  if we have not asked for this unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of your consultation response. By ‘special category personal data’, we mean information about a living individual’s:

• race
• ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership
• genetics
• biometrics
• health (including disability-related information)
• sex life; or
• sexual orientation.

By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for the performance by DLUHC of a task in the public interest/in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. Section 8(d) of the Data Protection Act 2018 states that this will include processing of personal data that is necessary for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department i.e. in this case a consultation.

Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or ‘criminal offence’ data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

4. With whom we will be sharing your personal data

DLUHC may appoint a ‘data processor’, acting on behalf of the Department and under our instruction, to help analyse the responses to this consultation. Where we do we will ensure that the processing of your personal data remains in strict accordance with the requirements of the data protection legislation.

5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.

Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation, unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.

6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction, objection

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you

b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete

d. to object to our use of your personal data in certain circumstances

e. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO: dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or

Knowledge and Information Access Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

7. Your personal data will not be sent overseas

8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making

9. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system

We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for two years before it is deleted.