New report from Local Trust and the Centre for Progressive Policy calls for targeted interventions in England’s most deprived neighbourhoods. The report focuses on doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods – areas that face both significant material deprivation and lower economic activity.
Local Trust, in partnership with the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP), has released research exploring the realities of good work in some of England’s most economically and socially deprived communities.
As the government’s Plan to Make Work Pay takes centre stage, this report brings a much-needed focus on neighbourhoods that are often left behind by broader policy interventions.
The research highlights the unique challenges facing the 2.3 million people living in doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods, which suffer from higher rates of economic inactivity, limited access to good jobs, poor transport links and worse health outcomes than the national average.
Compared to other deprived neighbourhoods and national benchmarks, these areas experience:
- Fewer jobs per person and within commuting distance – Weak transport links and poor digital access – with 43.4 per cent of people in these areas the least engaged with the internet – isolate doubly disadvantaged areas and render these communities disconnected from broader economic progress.
- More low-quality, low-paid and insecure work – Over half of all workers in these areas are employed in low-paying sectors and are more likely to work in routine and manual occupations than in any other type of community. Fewer than a quarter of workers are employed in managerial or professional roles, compared with 27 per cent in other deprived areas and 41 per cent in England as a whole.
- Greater isolation from economic spillovers and regional growth – Economic failures create a trap of ‘no jobs or bad jobs’ driving further socioeconomic challenges.
- A deep entanglement of poor work opportunities with wider social determinants, such as health inequalities and the decline of community infrastructure – Over 30 per cent of working age adults rely on some form of income, health or workless benefits in doubly disadvantaged areas, compared to the national average of 17.8 per cent.
The report calls for a shift in the national policy agenda towards place-based interventions that directly address the challenges of doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Rachel Rowney, chief operating officer at Local Trust said:
“Doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods face profound challenges that are too often overlooked in national policy discussions. Without targeted, place-based interventions, these communities will continue to experience the vicious cycle of the ‘no jobs or bad jobs’ trap.
“Our recommendations provide a clear roadmap for government to not only support these areas but give local people the boost they need and give them the means to thrive. It’s time for real, sustained action that tackles job inequality at its root.”
Three key policy solutions include:
- Establishing a Neighbourhoods Unit within government to coordinate cross-departmental efforts focused on improving access to good work in these areas. Neighbourhood planning has suffered from long-term neglect and poor governance. The central government’s lack of a focused strategy has resulted in uncoordinated policies and actions.
- Consolidating and targeting existing funding pots, including UK Shared Prosperity Funds, to support good work programmes in doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods – and – revitalising the Community Wealth Fund to foster localised, community-led regeneration efforts.
The tight fiscal situation means there will likely be limited resources for investing in doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods. However, these areas need investment now to start making progress, as they are particularly disadvantaged due to a lack of social infrastructure. - Leveraging devolution to embed neighbourhood renewal policies, with a specific focus on double devolution that gives additional powers to address the needs of the most disadvantaged areas.
There is a risk that devolved regional authorities will assume prosperity will trickle down to the most deprived neighbourhoods, but these communities remain isolated from broader economic success.
Dan Turner, report co-author and head of research at the Centre for Progressive Policy said:
“The last Labour government made a real difference in supporting neighbourhoods through their New Deal for Communities. Our research shows that the new government’s flagship plans – for devolution, growth, and a Plan to Make Work Pay through national employment law reform – will not be enough to repeat the trick for England’s doubly disadvantaged communities.
“We’ll need to see a credible vision for thriving neighbourhoods, especially in our poorer urban and coastal areas, if the UK is to deliver prosperity to all people and places.”
This report is based on interviews with communities involved in the Big Local programme, and was informed by focus groups in doubly disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Read the report.