The Church Urban Fund’s latest report, ‘Poverty in Numbers’, confirms that marked inequality exists in England; that poverty is heavily concentrated in the north of the country, in urban areas, and around the coast; and that affluence and inequality often closely co-exist.

A community in Penzance is shown to be one of the poorest in England, with as many as 30% of children, and 26% of pensioners thought to be living in poverty. 

Child poverty in Rock, for example, is unusual, with only 7% of children living in poverty. Just 13 miles away in Bodmin, this figure rises to 23%.

So where does your parish fit into the overall scheme of things? Now you can find out by using CUF’s Poverty ‘Lookup Tool’.

This tool has recently been updated, incorporating 2011 Census data and by entering your postcode you can see where your parish ranks, nationally or within the diocese, on 10 different indicators including child poverty, pensioner poverty and life expectancy.

You can also access this tool on your smart phone, by using the Tackling Poverty Together App to find out information about the parish in which you are living, visiting or that is simply of interest.

‘Poverty in Numbers’ is a downloadable summary report of the key findings from the updated tool.

All of these resources will be of particular value to parishes, and groups of parishes, that are considering ‘Doing Church Differently’ or continuing with their Mission Action Planning activities.

For a wider perspective on the diocese’s involvement in alleviating poverty in Cornwall, visit the Poverty and Debt page on our website or Transformation Cornwall.