Sum m ary. The increasin g spatial con centration of the disad van taged has resulted in the isolatio n of m any individ uals and households from m ainstream social and econ om ic activitie s. This paper is con cern ed with the exclusion of these individ uals from the labour m ark et. This in turn con stitu tes a con siderab le barrier to the ability of individ uals and households to access services , facilitie s and netw ork s in the wider econ om y and society. Recognis ing the impact of w ider m acroeco nom ic forces, the paper review s and assesses policies aim ed to address this problem at the neigh bourhood level. Program m es con sidered include the creation of em ploym ent opportu nities w ithin disad van taged neigh bourhood s and those w hich aim to build links betw een these areas and the w ider labour mark et. The poten tial con trib ution of housing program m es and exp enditure is assessed . The com plex nature of the problem is highligh ted lead ing to an emphasis on the need for multi-secto ral solu tion s.