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This paper examines the Housing Corporation's stress area investment policy, which attempts to tackle multiple deprivation through housing instruments. Doubts are expressed about the theoretical underpinning of the policy's approach, and about the lack of appropriate output measures. In addition, the political factors influencing the detailed construction and manipulation of the policy, the methodological problems involved in trying to operationalise it, and the difficulties which inhibit its implementation are described. Finally, the circumstances of the stress area policy are related to the Housing Corporation's position as a Non Departmental Public Body, and a solution of regional Housing Corporations is suggested.

In this article we explore the informal relationship between foodbanks and the state during the period of welfare reform, using evidence from a qualitative study of foodbank users in Glasgow, UK. We examine how changes in the welfare state are reflected in what foodbanks do, how they operate, and the expectations and experiences of foodbank users. Our research framework contains three paradoxes: people are knowingly failed by recent welfare reforms and subsequently referred by state and third sector agencies to charitable foodbanks; the voluntary sector cannot adequately support vulnerable people who have needs that are more than food-related, due to state cutbacks; and community food initiatives play a role in helping people in severe financial hardship, but are fundamentally different from and not a replacement for foodbanks. We show that in the case of foodbanks, the voluntary sector–state relationship is more profound and consequential for foodbanks and citizens than any formal arrangements would suggest.

Background: There are arguments for and against the wellbeing effects of internet use, with evidence shifting from negative to positive over time, although the effects are partly dependent upon the population sub-group concerned. There are good grounds for anticipating that the internet could be beneficial to people living in deprived communities, but this group has rarely been studied. Methods: Data are from a cross-sectional, face-to-face survey of adult householders (n = 3804) in 15 deprived communities in Glasgow, UK. Respondents were asked whether they used the internet and, if so, how they usually accessed it: at home, via a mobile phone, in a public venue, or other means. Data were also collected on social contact and support, use of amenities, sense of community, wellbeing, loneliness, and physical activity. Results: There were inequalities in internet access within deprived communities, with use of the internet lowest among older people, those with a long-standing illness, and those with no educational qualifications. Some social benefits were associated with internet access, such as frequency of contact with neighbours, available financial social support, and greater use of social amenities and shops. Internet users were also less likely to report feeling lonely and had higher mental wellbeing scores. Respondents who used the internet were also more physically active. However, community cohesion and empowerment variables were very similar among internet users and non-users. Several of the positive associations with internet access were more marked for those who accessed the internet at home and for older people. These are new findings in respect of deprived communities. Conclusions: Extending internet access for people in deprived communities is worthy of further consideration in the context of government objectives for tackling social isolation and increasing wellbeing. The results also suggest that greater digitisation of public services may not result in greater cohesion and empowerment in deprived communities, as is often assumed, but rather has the potential to reinforce social inequalities.

Host cities have increasingly sought to combine the staging of a multi-sports event with the regeneration of run-down areas. Like London 2012, Glasgow has sought to use the Commonwealth Games 2014 as a catalyst for the physical, social and economic renewal of its East End. This paper presents a novel approach to the assessment of legacy for a host community which recognises the complexity of potential impacts, without assuming a trickle-down effect to the local area. This comprises a holistic approach to evaluation, encompassing consideration of plausibility, the specifics of people and place, and legacy programmes. Three requirements for sustained economic legacy impacts for the host community are identified: continued and extended partnership working at a strategic level; extending the scope and duration of legacy programmes beyond that required for the event itself; resolving inherent tensions between delivering legacy at different spatial scales, and ensuring the equitable treatment of disadvantaged areas.

Critics have called for more attention to be paid to the health impacts of the economic downturn and policy responses to it. Other research has reported that, without any protective measures, deprived communities will be badly hit by austerity. This article uses evidence from fifteen deprived communities to look at the changing incidence of financial difficulties among key at-risk groups, and their associations with mental health, from the pre- to the mid-recession period. High and increasing rates of affordability difficulty were found in respect of the costs of fuel, council tax and clothes, particularly among households with disabled adults, under-occupiers and families with part-time workers. Moreover, increased affordability difficulties were consistently associated with a decline in mental health, at all time periods and for all items of expenditure. The evidence supports a policy counter-narrative focussed on preserving and enhancing mental wellbeing for all rather than the current 'austerity hegemon'.