The Hills Report

This 2010 report (link here) on equality in the UK used Indices of Deprivation data (2007) to showcase differences in outcomes between people in the most and least deprived areas in the country. Here are some key findings:

Analysis of Key Stage 4 results by the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI).

“Within the least deprived areas, nearly 70 per cent of boys achieve results in the top half of the overall range. In the most deprived areas, only 30 per cent of boys achieve results in the top half. Half of girls in the least deprived areas achieve results in the top quarter overall, but only about a fifth of those in the most deprived areas.”

Employment in England using the IMD.

“In the most deprived tenth of areas in England, only 55 per of adults of working age are employed and a quarter are economically inactive because of disability, sickness, or looking after family or home.”

Hourly wages in England using the IMD.

“The median hourly wage in the most deprived tenth of areas is much lower than the median in the least deprived tenth of areas – by nearly 40 per cent in England and Wales, and by 45 per cent in Scotland.”

The report notes that there is relatively little difference in the bottom floor for hourly wages across deprivation deciles (reflecting the impact of the minimum wage) but much larger differences between the highest rates. This might suggest that wage inequality is higher within the least deprived areas of England than within the most deprived areas.

Equivalent net income and total household wealth using the IMD.

The report found a strong gradient in equivalent net income by area deprivation and a stronger curve for total household wealth:

“Median income in the most deprived tenth of areas is £281, compared with £396 for England as a whole, and £533 in the least deprived tenth of areas…Median total household wealth in the most deprived tenth of areas is £34,000. In the least deprived tenth of areas, it is £481,000.”