Local Government Finance: Deprivation Indicators

(asked on 9th December 2025) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish an analysis of how the updated deprivation indicators have altered funding allocations to individual councils under the new Local Government Finance Settlement for (a) Hampshire; (b) Hertfordshire; (c) Kent; (d) Surrey; (e) Essex; (f) Oxfordshire; (g) Buckinghamshire; (h) West Sussex; and (i) East Sussex.


Answered by
Alison McGovern Portrait
Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This question was answered on 16th December 2025

The government published the local government finance policy statement Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 - GOV.UK and government response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on Thursday 20 November, which set out the government’s plans to introduce a fairer and evidence-led system, that will realign funding with need and deprivation.

The government has used the most robust and up to date evidence available. On this basis, we are now using data from the recently published 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation in our assessment of need.

We will publish provisional local authority allocations at the upcoming provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.

The government will also include technical annexes for each ‘relative need formula’ – including those which use updated deprivation data – at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (IoD25) on Thursday 30th October 2025. All resources can be accessed online here - English indices of deprivation 2025 - GOV.UK.

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