Census 2021 reveals Thurrock deprivation hotspots

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 54.3% of households in Thurrock were deprived in at least one of these "dimensions" when the most recent census was carried out.

It meant the area stood above the average across England and Wales​, of 51.7%. ​However, it represented a drop from 61.4% at the time of the last census in 2011.

A further breakdown reveals which of the area's 20 neighbourhoods were most affected by deprivation last year.

In Thurrock, the five areas with the highest deprivation rates were:

1) Chadwell St Mary – 64.5% of households here were deprived in at least one dimension at the time of the 2021 census, down from 72.3% in 2011

2) Tilbury – 63.7%, falling from 73.2% in 2011

3) South Ockendon – 63.3%, a drop from 71.3% in 2011

4) Stifford Clays – 61.3%, down from 64.7% in 2011

5) Stanford East – 57.9%, down from 61.6% in 2011

By contrast, the neighbourhood with the lowest level of deprivation was South Chafford, at 38.6% of households.

The ONS said deprivation is a "complex topic", adding that more detailed information would come in future releases.