Beyond the Rankings: What the IoD 2025 Means for People, Place and Leadership

The English Indices of Deprivation 2025 land at a moment when the pressures facing local government, housing, health and public services are sharper than ever and the picture they paint is both urgent and unsettling. In this in-depth Tile Hill report, Senior Consultant Liam Young explores what the new data really tells us about England today: a country where inequality has not only persisted but become structurally baked into place. The same neighbourhoods, the same seaside towns, the same post-industrial communities remain trapped at the bottom of the rankings, despite two decades of regeneration programmes, six years of “Levelling Up”, and a refreshed focus on equity.

Drawing on the ranking of all 33,755 neighbourhoods, the report examines why deprivation remains so resistant to change, from the deep-rooted histories of our most disadvantaged places to the widening geography of hardship now appearing in rural villages, coastal towns and pockets of some of the country’s wealthiest regions. Liam highlights the demographic patterns shaping inequality, the contrasting stories across North, South, cities and countryside, and the emerging signs of movement in the few neighbourhoods beginning to shift upwards.

But this report goes beyond analysis: it explores what the IoD 2025 means for leadership, placemaking and the future of public service. It argues that reversing deprivation requires more than extra funding, it demands bold, collaborative leaders who can work across systems, champion identity and community, and shape places as living, interconnected ecosystems.

If you work in local government, regeneration, housing, or place-based leadership, this report offers a timely, candid and deeply resonant exploration of the challenges ahead.

Click "Download Now" on the right to download and read the full report.