Moray and Aberdeenshire least deprived areas on Scottish mainland
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NEW figures have shown Moray and Aberdeenshire to be the least deprived areas on the Scottish mainland.
According to figures from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, Moray and Aberdeenshire have the lowest share of areas among the 20 per cent most deprived in Scotland. The figures show three per cent of areas of both constituencies fall within the country's most deprived.
However, a fifth of Moray's areas fall into the 40 per cent of most-deprived in the country. The number is 12 per cent in Aberdeenshire.
Four areas of Moray are ranked among the most deprived in Scotland. Three of those are in Elgin, with the other in the centre of Forres. Ten of Moray's areas, on the other hand, are ranked within the least deprived 10 per cent in Scotland.
Find out how deprived your area is, according to this calculator, HERE.
But the amount of areas in Moray bracketed within the country's most deprived is on the rise – having increased by two per cent since 2016 (from one per cent to three per cent).
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) ranks 6976 small "data zones" and covers the whole of Scotland. Statistics are based on income, employment, health, education, access to services, crime and housing.
SIMD is used to help organisations invest in areas most in need, and identifies deprived areas, not people. More than half of people on low income do not live in the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland. So using SIMD to identify individuals experiencing deprivation will not work in some areas, such as remote rural areas, and the islands.
Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Shetland and Orkney have no areas among the 20 per cent most deprived in Scotland. The rural areas of Moray and Aberdeenshire are ranked highest among "mainland" areas.
At the other end of the scale, Inverclyde is ranked as the country's most deprived local authority. Glasgow is second, but has seen a four per cent decrease in deprivation since 2016.
Scotland’s Chief Statistician, Roger Halliday, said: "I welcome these statistics and the work done to make this complex information more easily accessible.
"I know how widely the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is used as a vital resource for local planning, by third sector organisations and by many others.
"However, we must also focus on the strengths and assets of communities if we are to work together to make Scotland a fair and inclusive place to live."
