Consultation open for Community Needs Index methodology review

‘Left-behind’ areas are a growing concern for social policy with a range of studies starting to explore underlying factors contributing to areas being ‘Left-behind’ – including low levels of social mobility, low skills or declining industries and exclusion from external investment by the public and voluntary sector. In 2018 Local Trust commissioned Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) to provide a quantitative definition of ‘Left-behind’ areas – with a Community Needs Index developed to capture the social infrastructure challenges experienced in deprived communities.

Following on from the research we are now looking to review and update the Community Needs Index. The overarching aim of this consultation is to come up with a refined model, that makes use of the most up to date data and robust methodologies. This updated methodology, that we will finalise by the end of 2022, will be used to provide further insights into the challenges and experiences of high needs communities and ensure areas are being identified using the most recent data which reflects the profound social changes experienced over the last couple of years (in the context of the global pandemic).

We would value your input into this consultation, which is open until the end of October 2022. Please follow the link below.

Download the consultation paper

Respond to the consultation