Oldham is England’s most deprived town

OLDHAM has been named as the most deprived town in England.

A study into housing and poverty by the Office of National Statistics found Oldham had the highest proportion of deprived areas - with almost two-thirds of the town classed in the most deprived 20 per cent of the nation

The results were based on seven different criteria: income, employment, health and disability; education, skills and training; crime; barriers to housing and services, and living environment.

Across the indicators, Oldham ranked second-worst for income, third-worst for education and fourth-worst for employment out of 109 towns and cities. It was also rated ninth worst for health and sixteenth for crime levels.

But Oldham was in the top 10 of all areas for the least number of barriers to housing and services, and in the top 50 for living environment.

The 28 towns and cities with the largest percentage of deprived areas were in the North or Midlands, while four cities had no ranking i the bottom 20 per cent – Basingstoke, Bracknell, High Wycombe and St Albans. Guildford in Surrey was named as the least deprived town overall.

Councillor Eddie Moores, Oldham Council’s cabinet member for health, said: “In the last five years we’ve worked hard to improve health, wages, skills and employment opportunities through initiatives like Get Oldham Working, the Oldham Education and Skills Commission and the award-winning Warm Homes Oldham, which has already lifted more than 3,300 people out of fuel poverty.

“We’ve also invested in the borough’s biggest post- war regeneration programme so that people can benefit from a growing economy and get more opportunities to succeed.”

MP Jim McMahon said: “I hate seeing Oldham painted like this, but it’s hard to see beyond the “Northern Powerhouse” with cuts after cuts. Oldham can’t wait for central government or lose pace on regeneration. It’s vital we push forward for jobs and housing.”

Councillor Fida Hussain said: “The study may find Oldham to be the most deprived town, but people here from so many different backgrounds are proud of their town. I know we need to do so much more and we will.”