Overview for Merrybent, DARLINGTON, DL2 2LB

The Rural/Urban classification is based upon data collected during the 2011 Census and released in August 2013 and is categorised into 6 distinct classes.

[A] Urban Major conurbation: A built up area with a population of 10,000 (3,000 in Scotland) or more and is assigned to the major conurbation settlement category.

[B] Urban Minor conurbation: A built up area with a population of 10,000 (3,000 in Scotland) or more and is assigned to the minor conurbation settlement category.

[C] Urban City and town: A built up area with a population of 10,000 (3,000 in Scotland) or more and is assigned to the city and town settlement category.

[D] Rural Town and fringe

[E] Rural Village

[F] Rural Hamlet and isolated dwelling

The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is the official measure of relative deprivation.

The index is based on 39 separate indicators across seven distinct domains (Income; Employment; Health and Disability; Education, Skills and Training; Crime; Barriers to Housing and Services; Living Environment) to provide an overall measure of multiple deprivation and is calculated for every neighbourhood.

The index is relative rather than an absolute scale and so a neighbourhood with a score of 10 is more deprived than one rated 20, but this does not equate to being twice as deprived.

Please note: Different indices are used in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and so comparison of scores from neighbourhoods in different countries should not be undertaken.

These figures report on incorporated UK companies only that are registered at this postcode and do not include sole-traders, partnerships or overseas organisations.

The population figure shown for your area are an estimate provided by the Office for National Statistics and is rounded to the nearest 1,000.

The estimates are derived from the Annual Population Survey (APS) which is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) plus various sample boosts.

There are 55 unitary authorities. They provide all local government services in their areas. These are mainly in the cities, urban areas and larger towns although there are now 6 shire county councils that are unitary (ie have no district councils beneath them).