Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD)
Communities First areas were selected through a statistical
measure called the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.
WIMD 2000
The initial Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) was
published in August 2000, replacing the existing Welsh Index of
Socio-Economic Conditions but using the same 1991 Census data. It
consisted of six domains, or factors deemed to indicate
deprivation:
- Income
- Employment
- Health
- Education
- Housing
- Geographic access to services
Data was collated for all 865 Electoral Divisions in Wales,
which were then given comparative rankings, both for each
individual domain and also combined across all domains
From this a subset of data deemed relevant to child poverty was
also used to create a Child Poverty Index.
The top 100 wards in Wales were chosen to be part of the Welsh
Assembly Governments Communities First programme.
The WIMD 2000 rankings for Communities First wards and all wards
in Neath Port Talbot are available to download below.
WIMD 2000 Downloads
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WIMD 2005
Following consultation on the previous index, a new, revised
WIMD was released in November 2005. The updated index included an
additional domain – Environment; and the geographical units used
were LSOA’s rather than electoral divisions
(wards). Due to issues with available data a child index was not
produced in 2005.
LSOAs falling within the top 10% most deprived of the index that
were not already part of the programme were invited to apply for
Communities First status in August 2006. In Neath Port Talbot this
led to two Communities First partnerships expanding to cover larger
areas (Sandfields and Brynbryddan
& Penllyn) and the creation of two new partnerships
(Neath South/Cimla and Neath Town Centre).
The WIMD 2005 rankings for Neath Port Talbot LSOA’s, and ward
summaries are available to download below.
WIMD 2005 Downloads
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WIMD 2008
The 2008 WIMD was published in July 2008. The geography of
the index remained LSOA’s, but changes included the addition of
a Community Safety domain as well as new and amended indicators for
some of the existing domains.
An updated Child Poverty Index was also developed using the
WIMD 2008 data.
The WIMD 2008 rankings for Neath Port Talbot LSOA’s are
available to download below.
WIMD 2008 Downloads
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WIMD 2011
The most recent WIMD was published on August 31st
2011. There were minor changes to some of the domains and their
indicators. An updated Child Index was also developed using the
WIMD 2011 data.
The WIMD 2011 rankings for Neath Port Talbot LSOA's are
available to download below.
WIMD 2011 Downloads
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Using the Index
Comparison between different year’s indexes is tempting but it
does not provide a valid measure of an LSOA’s improvement or otherwise. An areas
ranking is affected by the scores of every other area; so IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE to tell whether a change in score is a real change in
the deprivation of an area, or whether it is a relative change due
to the scores of other areas going up or down.
You can’t say how much more deprived one area is than another;
the LSOA ranked 40th is not twice as deprived as the LSOA ranked
80th.
The index is based on the factors which mean an area is deprived
not affluent. An area much lower down the ranked list than another
is less deprived but you cannot say it is more affluent. Every area
has people who are deprived and who are affluent, but the index
counts only those classed as deprived.
The deprivation scores can’t be compared with those from other
UK countries, as they are separate indexes with different
indicators.
Lower Super Output Areas
Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA’s) are standard divisions used
across Wales and England for collecting, aggregating and reporting
statistics. There are 1,896 LSOA’s in Wales and 91 within Neath
Port Talbot. The mean average population size of an LSOA is 1,500
people, with a minimum of 1,000. Using LSOA’s for the WIMD has a
number of advantages:
Electoral divisions in Wales vary in size from around 1,000 to
20,000 people, whereas the more standard size of LSOA’s provides a
better basis for comparison.
The boundaries of electoral divisions can change, which creates
problems when comparing data from different time periods. LSOA
boundaries will remain the same.
More information on LSOA’s and census
geography is available from the Office for National Statistics
website.
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Last Updated: 13.09.2011 at 10:27