Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many lower-layer super output areas are within Telford constituency; how those areas are ranked by top (a) 1%, (b) 5% and (c) 10% in the index of multiple deprivation; and what impact that data has on the allocation of funding by her Department.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have published the Indices of Deprivation Local Authority dashboard which displays the number and level of deprivation of each Lower-layer Super Output Area (LSOA) within every local authority. This dashboard can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019-mapping-resources.

Whilst the Index of Multiple Deprivation is not used to allocate funding in the schools, high needs or early years national funding formulae (NFFs), the associated Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI), is used in all three of these NFFs to target funding towards deprivation.

In the schools NFF, IDACI funding is based on the IDACI 2019 area-based index measuring the relative deprivation of LSOAs. IDACI ranks are divided into seven bands, with more funding directed to pupils in the more deprived bands.

In the high needs NFF, the IDACI factor targets funding towards more deprived local authorities, assuming high needs costs are greater in these areas.

In the early years NFF, the IDACI factor is used as a proxy for relative levels of deprivation and is used in the 2 year-old and under 2s formula.

Further information on the NFFs is available here:

• Schools NFF: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.
• High needs NFF: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.
• Early years NFF: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-funding-2025-to-2026/2025-to-2026-early-years-national-funding-formulae-technical-note.