Cornwall asks government for ‘fair share’ of funding to tackle poverty

Cornwall Council has called on the government for its ‘fair share’ of funding after levels of deprivation and inequality across the region were highlighted in a new report.

Camborne Pengegon, Penzance Treneere, and Redruth North in Cornwall have the highest levels of overall deprivation, according to the government report, published last month

The previous report, published in 2015 showed that Cornwall had an Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ranking of 68 out of 326.

This year, Cornwall’s IMD ranking is currently 83 out of 317, with 17 Cornish neighbourhoods in the top 10% of most deprived areas in England.

The region has been heavily impacted by cuts, and between 2010 and 2020, Cornwall Council will have lost almost 60p out of every £1 provided by the government for services.

Adam Paynter, deputy leader of Cornwall Council said: ‘As we have highlighted in the past, this deep reduction in government funding, along with unequal funding across rural and urban areas, and an ongoing surge in demand for crucial services, is putting a huge strain on us and other local authorities across the county. It is stretching funds that simply don’t exist.

‘That is why we are standing up for all our residents by calling on government to redress a systematic bias against rural and coastal areas. We are disappointed that central government have delayed the fair funding review until next year.’

NewStart covered a recent report from University College London (UCL) which said the government’s approach to tackling inequality should ‘urgently address’ the multiple levels of disadvantage that some people face.

The report highlighted that where you live in the UK has a significant impact on your life chances, saying these issues are heavily intertwined with disparities in infrastructure across the UK and investment in both hard infrastructure, such as roads and rails, and soft infrastructure, such as schools and libraries.

Dr Olivia Stevenson, head of Public Policy at UCL, and report author said: ‘The UK has a deep-set and entrenched level of structural inequality and the UK government has a powerful role to play in addressing this.

‘Current instruments being used in government to measure inequality are not ambitious enough. We have a patchwork of policy, rather than a comprehensive fabric for policy delivery.

‘Instead of merely focusing on compliance, they must consider issues of multiple disadvantage and come up with a bold new strategy, working collaboratively across government departments and with businesses and the public sector.’

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