A NEW system to identify pockets of deprivation to help the authorities target resources more effectively has been launched in Redditch, writes Julian Seva.

The Joined Up Information System (JUIS) will provide the council with coloured maps depicting different levels of deprivation across the town.

The move comes after the Government Index of Deprivation was felt to be too imprecise, meaning small 'hotspots' of deprivation were going unnoticed.

Redditch Council's social inclusion officer, Jenny Murray, said: "At the moment, we only have statistics based on ward levels and, as a result, parts of Redditch always lose out because this level is just too big.

"So when you look at Abbey ward for example, you have Abbeydale and Abbey Park, one being deprived and the other relatively affluent, so when it comes to statistics they cancel each other out.

"And the same is true for Winyates, Greenlands and Matchborough.

"The JUIS project is designed to draw statistics out on a postcode level."

Mrs Murray added the information gleaned from the system would then help the council when applying for grants to tackle specific issues.

The new system will allow pockets of all types of disadvantage indicators to be located, such as unemployment, crime, infant mortality rate and heart disease.