Census 2021: Most deprived areas in West Lindsey revealed

The most deprived areas of West Lindsey have been revealed in the latest 2021 census results. The figures come as part of a more detailed set of results from the snapshot of England and Wales captured in March last year. As part of the 2021 census, households in England and Wales were classified in terms of four different "dimensions of deprivation", which are based on certain characteristics. The first is where any member of a household, who is not a full-time student, is either unemployed or long-term sick, and the second covers households where no person has at least five or more GCSE passes or equivalent qualifications, and no 16 to 18-year-olds at the home are full-time students. The third dimension is where any person in the household has general health that is “bad” or “very bad” or has a long-term health problem, and the fourth where the household’s accommodation is either overcrowded or is in a shared dwelling, or has no central heating. Office for National Statistics data show 50.8% of households in West Lindsey were deprived in at least one of these "dimensions" when the most recent census was carried out. It meant the area was largely in line with the average across England and Wales, of 51.7%. It also represented a drop from 54.6% at the time of the last census in 2011. A further breakdown reveals which of the area's 11 neighbourhoods were most affected by deprivation last year. In West Lindsey, the three areas with the highest deprivation rates were: 1) Gainsborough East – 62.4% of households here were deprived in at least one dimension at the time of the 2021 census, down from 67.2% in 2011 2) Gainsborough West – 61.5%, falling from 64.1% in 2011 3) Market Rasen and Brookenby – 53.5%, a drop from 56.5% in 2011 By contrast, the neighbourhood with the lowest level of deprivation was Nettleham, Sudbrooke and Scothern, at 42.3% of households. The ONS said deprivation is a "complex topic", adding that more detailed information would come in future releases.