Blackburn is county’s most deprived area
Scots Government report reveals poverty levels
Blackburn is the most deprived area in West Lothian, according to a new Scottish Governmentcommissioned report.
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation has shown that Central Whitburn, Armadale South, Bathgate East, Craigshill and Knightsridge are also among the five per cent most deprived places in Scotland.
High levels of crime and unemployment, coupled with low incomes, attainment levels in the classroom and poor health have put those areas among the poorest in the country.
Linlithgow South was ranked as the most affluent area in West Lothian, with Bankton, Murieston, Mid Calder, Kirknewton and South Broxburn all ranking among the least deprived communities.
Scotland’s Communities Secretary and Almond Valley MSP Angela Constance said: “It is unacceptable that anyone should live in poverty and deprivation in our modern, thriving Scotland, but this information helps us to effectively target public funding, policies and services.
“In West Lothian we all need to work together to help lift people out of poverty.
“We are currently consulting about how to eradicate child poverty and to ensure our social security system will have dignity and fairness at its heart.”
The report compared 6976 areas in Scotland.
Blackburn was the 109th poorest area in the country, followed by Armadale south in 170th place.
In contrast, Linlithgow south was ranked 6819th - the 157th most affluent area in the whole of Scotland.
Lothian MSP Neil Findlay said: “Poverty and inequality are the greatest scars on our society.
“For too many years these figures are produced yet little changes - we need a whole Government approach with an emphasis of putting additional cash and other resources into areas of greatest need.
“Warm words do not pay the electricity or food bills - we need real action to changes people’s lives for the better.”
A West Lothian Council spokeswoman said: “It is recognised that not everybody who lives in an area with a high deprivation ranking will be unemployed, income deprived or in poor health.
“Equally people experience deprivation also live in areas that do not show up in the SIMD analysis as being particularly deprived.
“However, our initial analysis of the SIMD 2016 suggests that a number of areas including Boghall and other parts of Bathgate have improved in relative terms.
“The areas in the most deprived 5 per cent in Scotland group are all datazones with revised boundaries.
“It is recognised that no single organisation can address social issues alone and that the best outcomes are achieved when public sector and voluntary organisations work together.
“West Lothian Community Planning Partnership was set up to identify, assess and prioritise what is important for West Lothian’s communities, and enable the setting of achievable and demonstrable outcomes for the Single Outcome Agreement.”
A n Au d i t Scotland spokeswoman added: “West Lothian Community Planning Partnership has considerable strengths built up over years of effective joint working which has delivered real benefits to local communities.”