Deprivation is on the rise in Barking and Dagenham, according to new statistics.
The borough is now in the top-ten most income deprived boroughs in the country, moving from 20th place in 2010 to ninth this year.
The data, released by the Department for Communities and Local Government, reveals that almost a quarter (24.2 per cent) of residents were found to live in income deprived households.
The statistics place Barking and Dagenham as the second most deprived London borough after Tower Hamlets. Knowsley, in Merseyside, had the highest level of deprivation at 27.6pc.
A spokesman for the council said the worsening rank did not mean that the borough was becoming more deprived but instead that it had made slower relative improvement.
“We have a wider spread of more moderate to high levels of deprivation and this is the reason that we are listed so highly,” he added. “These figures reinforce the importance of the Growth Commission we are launching to ensure growth in the borough is properly planned.”
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