English Indices of Deprivation 2028 Update: Methods Review and Data Feasibility Study

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is conducting a Pre-Tender Market Engagement to inform a procurement for updating and improving the English Indices of Deprivation, a key official statistical measure used to assess relative deprivation across England at small-area level. The work comprises three concurrent tranches: Tranche 1 involves refreshing and updating the 2025 Indices release for publication in 2028, including data collection, processing, and publication-ready outputs; Tranche 2 requires an independent review of the Indices' conceptual framework, definitions, domain weightings, and policy alignment to ensure continued statistical quality; and Tranche 3 involves a feasibility study on acquiring or producing data on wealth and assets to complement existing deprivation measures. The Indices measure 10 dimensions of deprivation including income, employment, health, education, crime, and housing across 33,755 Lower-layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England, drawing on 55 datasets from government and other sources. Tranche 1 suppliers cannot undertake Tranches 2 or 3, though those tranches may be delivered by the same or different suppliers. All deliverables include project management, stakeholder engagement, technical documentation suitable for GOV.UK publication, datasets in specified formats, and visualization products. Suppliers should consider social value contributions aligned with skills development, employment support for disadvantaged groups, and health and wellbeing initiatives.