'Most deprived' areas identified

The government says levels of deprivation have improved

The most deprived part of Scotland has been identified by the Scottish government as Parkhead West and Barrowfield in the east end of Glasgow.

Officials looked at relative rates of income, employment, education, health, crime and access to services.

Glasgow still had almost half of the most severely deprived areas in the country, but its position was said to be improving.

Ferguslie Park in Paisley was previously the most deprived area.

An area in Banchory in Aberdeenshire was the least deprived.

Figures published by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIDM) showed that Glasgow had continually improved, lifting more areas of the city out of deprivation.

The study looked at more than 6,000 neighbourhoods across Scotland and found that there were still pockets of deprivation in parts of Dundee, Fife, North Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire.

We know there are areas where daily life is a lot harder because of the area you live in and this is unacceptable Alex Neil MSP Housing and Communities Minister

Other areas such as Clackmannanshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire have shown improvements in levels of multiple deprivation.

Although levels of employment deprivation in the most deprived areas was still well above the national average of 9%, the figures also showed that employment deprivation had fallen in the most deprived areas, from 30% to 26%.

SIMD divides Scotland up into 6,505 small geographical areas, called 'datazones', with an average population size of 767.

These are ranked from 1, the most deprived to 6,505, the least deprived.

But not all people who are deprived live in deprived areas. The index measures concentrations of deprivation.

Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil said: "It is encouraging to see progress and the sustained change that is happening in Glasgow but there are still serious problems to be addressed in our communities.

"We know there are areas where daily life is a lot harder because of the area you live in and this is unacceptable.

"We can't be complacent and we're determined to redouble our efforts to address existing problems and support households and communities across Scotland, especially during the economic downturn."