Neighbourhoods and area statistics in the post 2001 census era

This paper examines the current interest in neighbourhood‐based policy in England and considers the extent to which the output geography developed for the 2001 census helps to meet the need for neighbourhood‐based data. The characteristics of the new census output geography are presented, and the difficulties of creating meaningful neighbourhood geographies from statistical reporting units reviewed. The new geography will provide a much improved basis for the consolidation of data from official administrative sources, but additional challenges are also discussed in relation to the future of census data collection and publication.