Agenda item

The Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Director of Resources which provided key messages and selected analyses for County Durham for the recently released Index of Deprivation 2019 (ID2019) from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The report sought approval for the report to progress to Partnership Boards, for information and update, and, to be disseminated further as appropriate (for copy see file of Minutes).

Members were concerned with the increased levels of deprivation as a result of a decade of austerity measures imposed by Government policy, which had affected all Councils in the region. A wider analysis was being undertaken of the impact of austerity on the Council’s vulnerable residents and communities, but ultimately this should be addressed by the Government in the Fair Funding Review.

The statistics were very stark and behind the figures were struggling families and children living in poverty without the opportunities that children in wealthier areas had, and it was hoped that this regional inequality would also be addressed by the Government as part of its ‘levelling up’ Agenda.

Resolved

That the recommendations in the report be approved.